The PortAventura Foundation has announced its most ambitious and representative project yet: PortAventura Dreams. The village, located within the resort, will offer a unique experience for children living with serious illnesses and their families. The project will consolidate the foundation’s commitment to use entertainment and fun as the axis of its social action in order to improve the lives of children at risk of exclusion due to a disability or health reason.
PortAventura Dreams is a ground-breaking initiative in Europe, using an investment of more than 3 million euros to create a playful sanctuary during the fight against illness. The project will create positive effects for recovery from a psychological viewpoint, whilst building new opportunities for family bonding.
The foundation has established a solid network of different collaborators from private companies, hospitals and other foundations. The objective is to continue to increase the number of collaborators and add more mother and baby care hospital units in Spain that want to join this very special charity initiative.
PortAventura Dreams will occupy an area of 9000 m² inside the PortAventura World resort. The village will have eight homes, with a surface area of 130 m², fully accessible and can accommodate a total of eight families, with a maximum of six members each. The project will focus on children aged four to 17 years old who suffer (or have suffered) with serious illnesses, and are registered on the Ministry of Health’s list. The selection of families that can participate in the PortAventura Dreams experience will be carried out through an independent committee made up of doctors, social workers and other healthcare experts. The forecast is that every year a total of 168 families will be able to benefit from the PortAventura Dreams programme, a number that will increase over time.
Families will have a six-day stay, completely free of charge, in a fully-adapted detached house located in the village. The package will include access to PortAventura World’s three parks and the possibility of enjoying exclusive activities for families, delivered by groups of volunteers from the PortAventura Foundation.
The value of leisure as part of recovery therapy
PortAventura Dreams is an initiative of the PortAventura Foundation, the organisation that channels and promotes all of PortAventura World’s social actions that form part of its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Founded in 2011, the PortAventura Foundation has granted aid worth 6.3 million euros through its own various projects or in collaboration with other organisations, and has invited more than 68,000 children and young people at risk of exclusion to enjoy PortAventura World.
The launch of PortAventura Dreams represents a new step forward for the foundation, and adds to the long list of initiatives carried out every year, such as charity days, fundraising events, direct contributions to projects created by other organisations and access to leisure programmes.
“We are aware of our position and responsibility, and we firmly believe that we can create a real and positive impact on society and the environment. The launch of PortAventura Dreams allows us to continue to generate real value for society through a programme that aims to make illness more bearable, not only for the child, but also for their family, which is a fundamental part of the recovery process. All of this harnesses the therapeutic and motivational capacity that leisure and family fun can have. We are very pleased to launch such an exciting and ambitious project as PortAventura Dreams, and we are sure that it will allow us to continue helping those who need it the most”, said Ramón Marsal, President of the PortAventura Foundation.
