Children's Wish picks Home For The Games to help fulfill a kid's Olympic
dream

VANCOUVER , Feb. 3 /CNW/ - Children's Wish Foundation has chosen Home For The Games to house a Montreal child and his family bound for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , providing a unique home stay experience while helping his wish come true.

Through homeforthegames.com, an Olympic accommodation website with a charitable twist, 2010 Winter Games visitors can stay in the homes of Vancouver citizens with proceeds going to charities tackling homelessness.

"Children's Wish Foundation is proud to be associated with Home For The Games in helping us grant this child's wish while also contributing to a very worthy cause," said Paul St. Germain, director of communications with The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada .

The Children's Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with high-risk illnesses. Ten-year old Samuel has lymphoblastic leukemia. Watching top athletes from around the world compete for gold is his most heartfelt wish. He and his family have tickets to several men's hockey events.

"Samuel loves hockey. He's incredibly excited about travelling to Vancouver and watching the Games and has been wearing his Team Canada jersey every day since Children's Wish gave it to him," said his mother, Manon. "Staying in a home will make our stay more comfortable."

Finding comfortable and convenient accommodation for the family was imperative. They'll stay in the home of Patricia Crawford and her husband.

"Knowing we're giving back to the community and helping fulfill the wish of a child facing a serious illness is very rewarding. We're thrilled to be part of Samuel's wish and want to make it an amazing experience for him and his family," said Crawford.

The Rotary Club of Calgary Olympic, a service organization for business and community leaders, approached Home For The Games to find accommodations to make the wish come true and is providing the financial support to Children's Wish to cover the stay.

"We're delighted to help make a difference in a child's life, while also supporting the fight against homelessness," said Tamara McCarron, community service chair for Rotary Olympic.

Home For The Games is a non-profit web-based system that matches 2010 Winter Games visitors with Metro Vancouver hosts for short-term home stays, with half of the nightly fee directed to charitable organizations Streetohome Foundation and Covenant House Vancouver .

"We're touched that Children's Wish chose Home For The Games to help fulfill Samuel's wish. It brings enhanced meaning to our efforts to foster generosity and a cultural exchange, provide visitors with a positive and memorable Olympic experience and give back to those less fortunate," said founder Charles Montgomery .

To book or list a room and learn more, visit www.homeforthegames.com

About Home For The Games

Home For The Games is a non-profit web-based system to match 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games visitors with Metro Vancouver hosts for short-term home stays with half of the nightly fee directed to charitable organizations tackling homelessness. Home For The Games is building a legacy of a different sort: creating opportunities for people to share an unforgettable Olympic experience with guests from around the world while earning modest rental income, while helping Metro Vancouver's most vulnerable citizens. There's no fee to list or book a room on the Home For The Games website. Hosts will receive a tax receipt for the portion of the home stay fee that goes to charity. Funds raised through home stay fees will be directed to Streetohome Foundation and Covenant House Vancouver . For more information, visit www.homeforthegames.com

About Children's Wish Foundation

Each year, thousands of Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Since 1984, The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada has worked tirelessly to grant exceptional wishes to 15,000 children and their families. This year, the Foundation expects to grant 1,000 new wishes. The Foundation has never refused a wish to an eligible child, and with the help of volunteers and generous donors, is able to grant nearly three wishes every day. Each wish is an individual adventure, carefully structured to meet the needs of a particular child and family. The Foundation is a grassroots charity with chapters in every province and territory. For information on Children's Wish, log onto www.childrenswish.ca.

About Rotary

The Rotary Club of Calgary Olympic is one of more than 33,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas, with a total membership of 1.2 million men and women. Rotary members are business, professional and community leaders committed to improving the world through humanitarian service. Rotary's top priority is the global eradication of the crippling disease polio. For more on Rotary, visit www.rotary.org

For further information: Deena Tokaryk, Home For The Games, Tel: [phone], Cell: [phone], Email: [email protected]