Wish Recipient Gives Other Kids Hope & Strength
It takes a village to grant every wish. 2017 wish recipient, Shay, knows this firsthand. She still remembers the day she met her wish-granting volunteers. Shay’s mom Colleen says, “Not only did they enter our home to talk about wishes, they entered our hearts forever.”
That’s the power of the community behind wishes.
Before birth, Shay was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease that resulted in a severe heart defect and a host of other challenges, including a compromised immune system. Wish mom Colleen says, “It hasn’t always been easy, but this is our normal life.”
In 2017, Shay’s wish to meet the cast of her favorite movie came true. Not only was the experience a chance to step away from doctor appointments, procedures, blood draws and hospital stays, it gave Shay a chance to experience hope and a stress-free week.
Colleen says, “Experiencing the good-heartedness of so many strangers during Shay’s wish trip truly restored our faith in humanity…”
Wish kid Shay holds some of the earnings from her 2019 lemonade stand fundraiser.
Shay’s wish was so transformative that she immediately wanted to help grant wishes to other children with critical illnesses in her community.
That’s how Shay came up with the idea to partner with her wish-granting volunteer’s family to create a lemonade stand fundraiser to benefit future wish children.
They started the tradition in 2018 and expected to raise a few hundred dollars when they sold lemonade, Sno-cones, and baked goods on a local street corner in Pullman, Washington.
It turns out, the community LOVED the idea, and they came out in droves. The first year of the fundraiser, Shay and her friends raised nearly $3,000 to benefit Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington. One year later, they nearly doubled that at their second annual fundraiser. They even inspired some good local competition between the Police Department and the Fire Department to see which organization could raise the most funds. Not even a global pandemic could stop the fundraiser last year when Shay and her friends raised over $12,000.... only to be topped off by raising over $17,000 in 2021.
We’re thankful to Wish Family Alumni like Shay and wish-granting volunteers like Kimberly and her children Jack and Marissa, who inspire others in the community to grant future wishes.