Our Story
Avril Mills BEM set up The Dream Factory in 2008 in memory of her son Oliver, who died from leukaemia aged nine.
While Oliver was ill, Avril helped to grant a dream for a little boy who wanted to visit a football club. That day, Oliver said, “Mum, when I grow up I want to grant dreams just like you”. Sadly, Oliver never got that chance, but the premise for The Dream Factory was founded. Since 2008, we have granted over 600 dreams in his memory.
The Dream Factory aims to brighten the lives and encourage hope for children and young adults aged between 3 and 25 years who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and/or severe disabilities by way of granting wishes and dreams.
We aim to do everything possible to grant a child’s dream, which could be to meet their favourite celebrity, their favourite sporting hero, live the lifestyle of a millionaire for the day, own a laptop, or the latest mobile phone. They could choose to take a magical trip to Lapland or Euro Disney or to be a princess for the day. No wish is too small. All our dreams are made possible with the invaluable help of our fabulous Dream Makers who are all volunteers.
Please help to keep Oliver’s legacy alive
Please help us to keep Oliver's legacy alive
In January 2008, Avril Mills BEM founded The Dream Factory in memory of her son, Oliver, who fought leukaemia for six years and sadly died aged only nine years old.
The suffering of a child affects the whole family, which is why Avril decided to start The Dream Factory in order to brighten the lives of other families with similar difficulties and create lasting memories for them.
We have been fortunate in gaining the support of a number of well-known people who have agreed to become patrons of The Dream Factory. These patrons attend as many of our events as they can and helping to raise the profile of The Dream Factory.
Most of our dream makers are volunteers and we have offices and a car provided free of charge by SEE Rail LTD. Therefore, we are able to keep our overheads down to a minimum, allowing as much as possible to be spent on the dreams.
Any dream is possible and when The Dream Factory says it will take on the challenge of making a wish come true, then we will do everything in our power to make it happen in the shortest possible time.
Avril was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2014 for her services to children and young adults.
Celebrating Our Wonderful Young Ambassadors
The Dream Factory and our Dream Families
