Our Parents' Application Process is now closed for 2010 Your Day Away requests. We thank all of our sponsors for fulfilling the wishes of all of our parent applicants throughout the world. If you are a parent who wants to apply for 2011 services, please return after January 1, 2011 and click on the link to "Parents Apply" and fill out the application.

 Across the world—from Long Island to Namibia, Dublin to Cairo, Hawaii to Australia, Houston to South Africa—on Saturday, November 14, 2008, communities banded together around the world to support local families with children with Special Needs for our First International Day Away.  Your Day Away™ is a U.S.-based not-for-profit with an international reach that partners with organizations, schools, social service providers and parents around the world to allow for one day out of the year when parents or guardians with special-needs children can get away from their daily routines and enjoy the recreational, cultural, health & wellness, and gastronomical opportunities available in their local communities.  Whether its autism, Tourette’s, Down syndrome, learning, mood, behavior, eating or other psychological disorders, Fragile X, cancer, ADHD, mental retardation, rare genetic diseases, physical disabilities or any other childhood disease or disorder, kids with special needs require a lot of attention and exhaustive work on the part of their parents and guardians.  Your Day Away™ is a day away from the countless doctor appointments, visits with therapists, scheduling medications and tutors, negotiating with teachers and school districts, hours of helping with homework, attending to physical needs, or constantly thinking about the stressful situations special-needs families often find themselves in, it is a full-time, and often overwhelming, job.  There’s a lot of pressure being a parent or guardian of a child with special needs. It seems sometimes it is just hard to stop for a second to take a breath and relax.  Well, it’s time for a break.

Your Day Away™ is treating parents and guardians of special needs children to a full day off—at spas, health clubs, concerts, movies, museums, makeovers, shopping sprees, day trips, yoga classes, sports events, elegant dinners, etc.— one full day of relaxation and well-deserved payback for all the hard work they do, all provided free of charge by local communities, businesses and organizations.

Parents will have the opportunity to take a break and be treated to a day of pampering.

From a spa on Washington state’s Pacific coast to a spa on the tip of Long Island’s Atlantic coast, over the years, Your Day Away™ fulfilled the wishes of more than 600 people around the world. Other special days included a sunset cruise in Hawaii; a day of bowling and a movie in Houston; a catered house party in Dublin with massage therapists; a night out eating ribs in South Africa; a VIP visit at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science; tickets to see Patti LuPone in “Gyspy” on Broadway; free doctor visits and massages for overworked parents in Namibia who never have time for take care of themselves; a night of comedy in Missouri; a meet and greet with Harry Connick Jr in New York city; an Elton John concert in Connecticut; a meet-and-greet with Celine Dion in Kansas City; tickets for a performance at Hollywood’s legendary Kodak Theater; a performance of the Warsaw Philharmonic at the Tilles Center in New York; a stay at a hot springs resort in Montana; a day at the Beirut Hard Rock Café; a stay at a golf resort on Cape Cod; a stay-over in a Hyatt suite in Philadelphia for parents of two autistic children whose house was foreclosed on that week; a night on the town in Madison, Wisconsin; a shopping spree at Target in Indiana; and a day at a resort for parents in Egypt while their children rode camels at the Pyramids. Yes, the Pyramids. This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of the days away enjoyed by our parents. (Please check out the “sponsors” page to see the extraordinary generosity provided to these parents). Check out some of our families’ stories in our “Stories” section.

Described as “a Make-a-Wish™ for parents.” Your Day Away™ offers ongoing programs, services and valuable information and resources for parents and caregivers of children with special needs.

Our daily, ongoing outreach of Your Day Away™ provides services to parents of children with special needs throughout the year.

 Your Day Away™—a much appreciated respite for those parents and caregivers who so deserve a special, unforgettable day for themselves.