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Morning Dose is a proud sponsor of a very special organization that has helped thousands of families dealing with life-altering conditions. The woman at the helm of it all is the daughter of radio legend Kidd Kraddick.  And now, Caroline Kraddick is making her own way into the national spotlight.

Auditioning for American Idol, Caroline found out being on a reality show isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. “I don’t know if the reality TV stuff is for me.  You learn a lot,” Kraddick told Morning Dose‘s Melissa Rycroft. “It’s hard, you know? It’s definitely a whole other world, so what airs on TV is like 1/10 of what actually happens,” she said.

Ultimately, Caroline did not move on to the final rounds, but that isn’t going to stop her from pursuing her dreams. “You know, there’s so many things that I want to accomplish and I have so many amazing people in my life that can help me do it,” she said.

And, like her love for music, Caroline also has another love that is also very near and dear to her heart: An organization started over 25 years ago by her late father, called Kid’s Kidds.

“I was 23 when my dad passed away and I had always been involved with Kidd’s Kids,” Caroline said. “We take children with life-altering and life-threatening conditions to Disney World, on a paid vacation, so we always say we aren’t curing cancer or anything, but we are letting people have the break that they need.”

Kidd’s Kids has typically taken children between the ages of 5 and 12 years of age. But now that Caroline has taken the reins, she’s added something of her own: A teen version of the trip, inspired by her dad’s passing.

“I walked into Magic Kingdom and just started bawling; and I was 23 and I wasn’t hurting in a sick way, but I was hurting. My heart was hurting ’cause I lost my dad, so to see me get so much joy as a 23-year-old at Disney World, I thought there’s no reason why we shouldn’t take a 15-year-old.”

And the teen trip was born. Now, Caroline takes teens and their families to Give Kids the World in Central Florida, where they can hang by the pool, eat ice cream all day, or explore Disney.

This June marks the second year of the trip, a trip Caroline hopes will expand her father’s legacy. “It’s really, really special and it’s my baby; and it’s my way to put my own spin on my dad’s legacy and kind of make it my own, so it’s really special to me,” Caroline said.

Every Thursday on Morning Dose, we’ll be introducing you to some of the teens going on this year’s trip.  To find out more, or if you want to help support the teens and their trips, go to KiddsKids.com.

This Kidd’s Kids story is sponsored by Neighborhood Credit Union.