Bright and early the morning of May 4, a flight departed from the National Guard Facility in Ewing with 173 very excited people headed for Disney World.

Like clockwork, the Mercer County Chapter of the Sunshine Foundation, a non-profit, all-volunteer agency that grants wishes and dreams to children who are chronically ill, terminally ill, or have special needs, once again hosted its annual Operation Dreamlift to Disney World for 112 children ages 2 to 18, and 61 adult chaperones and support staff.

Before the departure flight, the travelers were given a grand sendoff complete with an honor guard and escort by law enforcement officers, state and municipal police and sheriff officers, fire officials and members of the New Jersey National Guard. The marching band from Ewing High School wowed the crowd with their toe-tapping tunes, while “Boomer,” the Trenton Thunder mascot, “Clash,” the Trenton Titans team mascot, and folks dressed as Disney characters hob-knobbed about.

“We are blessed to have so many good people who are willing to help, and when you see the smiling faces of the kids who go to Florida, you know it’s worth it,” said Cathy DiCostanzo, president of the Mercer County Sunshine Foundation and member of Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Trenton, in commenting on the 21st Operation Dreamlift and expressing gratitude to the foundation’s many faithful supporters.

“I have faith that our Lord takes care of these children and we thank him for allowing us to have such a wonderful day,” said DiCostanzo.

Among the speakers on the dais were Father Ian Trammell, director of the Office of Life and Justice Ministries, who, with Linda Richardson, director of the Office of Family Life, presented a donation to the Sunshine Foundation on behalf of the diocese, and Father Jeffrey Lee, pastor of Our Lady of the Angels Parish who offered a blessing to the passengers once they boarded the plane.

Father Trammell conveyed his excitement to be part of the Operation Dreamlift and see the kids off to Disney World. He said, “By offering support to the foundation as a diocese, we’re hoping to encourage people to see that every person, by virtue of the fact that God created them, has dignity. In a very real way, we as a diocese are able to give example to what we’re preaching. We need to reach out and give loving charity to those in need. We hope we’re able to assist in lifting the dreams of these children.”

For the past several years, St. Ann School, Lawrenceville, has shown support of Operation Dreamlift by holding special fundraisers to “buy seats” on the plane. This year, the students raised close to $5,000, enough to cover the cost of 14 seats which are $350 each, through dress down days, selling snow cones and raffles.

While Ginny Kulak, a teaching assistant, and Mary Arcadipane, school nurse, are the adult overseers of the fundraiser, they are pleased at how two students, Jenna McGrath and MacKenzie Johnson, who are now in fifth grade, have had a significant part in the effort’s success for the past several years.

“This is about helping to make kids happy,” MacKenzie proudly said of her school’s efforts to assist children in need.

“And, it sounded like fun,” Jenna added. “I liked seeing the kids’ smiles.”

Two young, happy travelers who were riding high in the days following their trip to the Magic Kingdom were eight-year-old Tiffany Coutermarsh, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Yardville, and Emily Gerlach, a third grader at St. Ann School.

“Tiffany’s name was picked out of a hat,” chimed Tiffany’s mom, Anna Christiano, who accompanied her daughter as a chaperone.

Christiano explained that Tiffany is autistic and is a student at the Joseph Capello School, which is part of the Mercer County Special Services School District. Besides Tiffany, there was another student from the school who went to Florida as well as teacher, Joelle Mileski “I didn’t realize how much of the concept of Disney Tiffany understood,” said Christiano, in giving some highlights of their day, going on the rides, visiting Small World, and getting to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

“The people at the Sunshine Foundation did such good work,” said Christiano. “They treated the kids wonderfully and had worked out all the details – they thought of everything right down to providing suntan lotion and hats for the kids’ heads. We had a great time. It was a beautiful day.”

Emily Gerlach recalled one experience of the day: “You should have seen this one parade,” she said, describing its featuring floats with a lot of Disney characters. She divulged that the Little Mermaid was her favorite.

Even though others like Kulak recognize Emily as being a bright, well-spoken little girl who “fits right in” with her peers, Emily admitted that there are times when she doesn’t feel that she’s “normal since no one in the school really has this,” she said, referring to her cerebral palsy.

“It was nice to go to Disney World,” said Emily, “and the chance for us kids to feel like we’re really something special.”