NEWTOWN, Conn. — Ian Hockley lost his son, Dylan, during the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, since then he’s dedicated his life to helping children with disabilities--starting with the nonprofit “Dylan's Wings of Change."
“I moved to America in 2011 with my family, we moved to the beautiful town of Sandy Hook, my wife Nicole and our two sons Jake and Dylan, and then very sadly, Dylan was killed in the shooting in Sandy Hook in December of 2012,” Hockley said.
Last year Hockley wanted to use donations to help children with disabilities who were having a hard time adjusting to the pandemic.
He soon became connected with "The Friendship Journey" - an organization that works to honor two of its volunteers who died in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. It was that collaboration and kinship through a shared bond that camp “Wings of Friendship was born". It's a virtual camp for teens and young adults with disabilities.
“We wanted to help kids, like Dylan, he was six years old, he had autism, that’s one of the things that made him special, so we wanted to take money and help other kids get the best start in life,” Hockley said.
Florida native Sabrina London is one of those campers and said Camp Wings of Friendship changed her life.
“My name is Sabrina London, I had a brain injury at birth, I have cerebral palsy,” London shared. “Camp Wings of Friendship means the world to me, it took the boredom out of the pandemic, I have a lot of fun, especially when we do the Broward Center.”
The Broward Center for Performing Arts in Florida is in charge of the camp’s acting activities--that’s where Gustavo Padrino comes in.
“It truly means everything, it's about creating lasting memories, but bringing these opportunities to everyone and having the opportunity to feel welcomed, supported, and included is what matters,” Padrino said.
While the camp will change lives for years to come, Hockley said in many ways Dylan would’ve loved to have gone to Camp Wings of Friendship.
“He would have been a freshman in high school this year if he’d been alive and I know he would have found his people, he would have found a welcoming environment where he could have been himself and I think ultimately isn’t that what all of us want?,” Hockley said.
Camp officials said they will be hosting a virtual camp next summer and are looking for people all over the country to attend.
Click here to register for camp.
Click here to register to volunteer.
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