Children take fantasy flight to North Pole

HORSHAM, PA - December 8, 2007 It's a flight to Santa's Workshop in the North Pole courtesy of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, with a little help from the folks at the Willow Grove Joint Reserve Base.

Navy Commander Joe Lauletta is the pilot taking the beautiful youngsters and their families on this magical flight. Lauletta tells Action News, "This is great. You know we really promote community service within our squadron and we're glad we could put on a show like this for the kids. There's about 45 families here that are going to take advantage of our fantasy flight to the North Pole."

This is the 14th year the Make-a-Wish Foundation has put on this program. The children are boarded onto a Navy C-9B. The window shutters are closed, and while the plane never actually gets off the ground, a jet-thrusted ride down the tarmac magically transports the 200-plus participants to Santa's workshop... also known as Hangar 175.

Sam Stafford and his family, including Sammy and Sophia, both special needs children, just got back from Disney World thanks to "Make-a-Wish." And now meeting Santa is the icing on the cake. "We got a letter in the mail a couple of weeks ago and we were just ecstatic to come out. We're just so grateful to be here. It's great for the kids," said Sam.

It was also a special day for 11-year-old Gladys Rivera from Morrisville who suffers from Leukemia and heart disease. Gladys tells us, "I was at the hospital at St. Christopher's and they said that I'm off chemo, like the day after Christmas, and so it's like an early Christmas present."

This magical journey to the North Pole ends with food, games, and lots of fun, and of course gifts from Santa. After all, if you are going to make a wish who better to make it come true than Santa Claus himself?