00:00At least once in our lives, we have felt out of place with those around us.
00:03But for some, being different from others is a never-ending reality.
00:08People with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism and down syndrome,
00:12experience life with a unique perspective and are often made to feel left out by society.
00:17Although they may be seen as different by others, these people are still human beings,
00:21yet many of them will never have the opportunities that most of us are able to have.
00:25Which brings us to Dream Ride, a weekend that provides people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
00:31a safe space where they can be themselves without feeling different.
00:35So I sent Kirsten from Beast Philanthropy to Connecticut to find out more about this event.
00:40And that's when we came across Jelly.
00:42And action!
00:44My name is Jelly Vendado. I love my mom. She's the best friend.
00:50And when Jelly was born, all I wanted was to find a community where I knew she would be accepted.
00:58I'm just filled with so much gratitude.
01:00Gratitude for communities like this.
01:03I mean, someone caring and taking the time out of their own schedule to do something like this.
01:09That would make anybody a little emotional.
01:12I love you. I love that song, too.
01:16This three-day event has many exciting features for everyone to enjoy, such as live music and a variety of activities.
01:29Although this all looks super fun, none of it compares to the main attraction of the weekend, the Dream Cruise.
01:36But before we get into that, let's go back to how this all started.
01:40Meet Mike, a local here in Connecticut who started Dream Ride back in the year 2000.
01:45Dream Ride started out very small, 24 years ago.
01:49And from there, it's been an incredible journey.
01:52Initially, Dream Ride consisted of a few people who would take children with intellectual disabilities on bike rides.
01:58This small act of kindness had a huge impact on these children's sense of importance and self-worth.
02:03And naturally, the support from Mike and his Dream Ride initiative grew exponentially as the years went by.
02:09It's their free space.
02:10This is the place where they come and they're respected.
02:12It doesn't matter who you are, what you are, where you came from.
02:16Everybody's the same.
02:17And that caring feeling to make a day better for someone else, it's definitely an experience.
02:23The support that Dream Ride receives today is so incredible and inspiring.
02:33But unfortunately, people from other countries might not be able to experience a weekend such as this one.
02:38So we decided to do something special.
02:40We've sponsored some Dream Riders from all over the world.
02:43Some are coming from Europe, the Philippines.
02:46And we wanted to bring them here so they could experience this Dream Ride event.
02:51We then met with one of our sponsored individuals named Jack.
02:54My name is Jack Hill.
02:56And I'm from Devon and South Ham.
02:59I love this place.
03:00And you've made a dream come true.
03:02We just met Jack and he is just hands down the most incredible human being.
03:07Such a warm heart.
03:08He's just a very, very cool dude.
03:10Riding a supercar is Jack's biggest dream.
03:12So we wanted to make sure this dream came true.
03:15I'm so excited to be driving with him.
03:17We're going to take out one of the McLarens and we get to do the Dream Cruise together.
03:22And that's going to be so much fun to spend more time with him.
03:24Now it was time for the two to go on the Dream Cruise together.
03:27Everyone here has a heart ten times the size of a normal one.
03:31The state police close the streets.
03:33And everybody here is consistent with a heart to make something better for them.
03:38Woo! Here we go!
03:52Oh, I'm too nervous. I don't want to crash into him.
03:55We're so close to everybody.
03:57We're so close to this person in my life.
04:02We both are making proud.
04:04Yeah, good. I'm sure they are proud.
04:10After embarking on the Dream Cruise, the riders are brought back to the festival
04:14where they are led on a red carpet into the main tent.
04:18The expression on each of their faces shows how happy and important they are made to feel
04:22by such a caring community of people.
04:24The sense of family amongst everyone is what brings them all together.
04:30And their experience of the weekend gives them all hope of a life without feeling different
04:35and neglected as they so often are made to feel by others.
04:38A truly beautiful moment that brings joy to each of them and their family's hearts.
04:43Thank you guys for watching this video.
04:47Click the link in the description if you want to support Dream Riders
04:49and allow more people in the future to be able to attend this event.
04:52For these kids, it can truly be life-changing.
04:55And I'll see you guys in the next video.
04:56We'll see you guys in the next video.
