The head coach at a multi-sports club for kids with additional needs in Belfast says a trip to Lapland would be a "once in a lifetime" experience for them and their families.
Gemma Reynolds, a former All-Ireland Judo champion and Irish Judo squad member, is trying to fund the trip for 18 families that use Inspire NI's services.
The date is already booked for the 65 kids and family members to go on 18 December and over half the trip has been paid for already.
Read more: New sports club for children with special needs opens in Belfast
They are now pushing to raise the final £15,000 to make the dream trip a reality.
"We've been running for over 6 years, we have our own facility in Dunmurry and we have over 60 kids that attend on a weekly basis," Gemma told Belfast Live.
"We run a couple of multi-sports classes, judo classes, some sensory classes and a youth club a few times a month.
"We take kids that are aged from 3 right up and this could be either who have a diagnosis or are awaiting a diagnosis, because obviously the process is very long at the moment.
"So any child that is even in the process of starting to be assessed we would take them too."
Gemma said they thought of the Lapland trip as a way of creating a beautiful experience for the kids after the hardships of the last few years.
"We've been through the pandemic and during that time, in my opinion, the kids really suffered with it," she said.
"These kids thrive on routine and structure and that was taken away from them, they had no school or social outlets.
"Everything that was normal to them was taken from them and a lot of them do have lasting effects from that, their social skills, anxiety or their mental health.
"And also the parents as well because at the end of the day, they were the ones left picking up the pieces."
She said the trip would see the coaches travel as well as the kids, their parents and siblings, as part of a group effort that would relieve stress for the parents.
"Their parents go through so many struggles on a daily basis, as do the kids, that other people would take for granted, when you don't have a child with an additional need," Gemma added.
"Everything that these kids have, the parents have to fight for and it would just mean a lot for them to go, it's a once in a lifetime trip and to experience such a magical time together.
"They'd be in a group where they're supported as the coaches would be going too, meaning we're there to support the parents for that day, even the plane journey when a lot of the kids have never been on a plane before.
"Every child has their own wee things going on and nobody bats an eyelid really whenever anything happens, everyone just supports each other."
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to try and raise the funds needed and it can be accessed here.
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