Mick Hoover is inspired to give back as a volunteer
For years, Mick Hoover has walked past the Make-A-Wish display at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and noticed the story of Chris, the Arizona boy whose wish to be a motorcycle officer inspired its mission.
Recently Mick decided to get involved and make the nonprofit organization part of his own story.
"I wanted to give back to the community in a meaningful way that allows me to have a direct impact on the kids and families we serve," said Mick, who has lived in Arizona for nearly 10 years with his family. "I chose to volunteer and give part of my time to make somebody else’s life better."
Mick has not yet experienced a wish from start to finish, but he is eager to jump in and help as many kids as he can. He is currently working with 18 children in the wish discovery phase.
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“In these conversations, you aren’t talking to kids about their illness or what’s happened to them. The focus is on happy things to come.”
Mick loves to see how creative wish kids are with their wish ideas, often finding ways to engage their parents and siblings in the wish.
“A little boy I’m working with is very outgoing and has a huge imagination. He talked about building a time machine with a passageway where he could secretly go from his room to his backyard and play without anyone knowing.”
While Make-A-Wish hasn’t quite figured out how to make time travel possible, we do have the goal of granting 450 wishes this fiscal year – a feat that can only be achieved with the help of volunteers.
“The number of wishes we’ve granted in Arizona has been eye-opening to me,” he said. “I’ve see how much work goes into each wish and I know that’s because of the Wish Managers and what they do behind-the-scenes.”
The kids’ excitement on their face from just the idea of their wish is what inspires me most.
If Mick could have his wish granted, he says he would go on a trip to Tokyo with his son.
“I’ve never been, and I really want to visit,” he shared. “I love food and cooking and we imagine ourselves walking around, eating street food, and immersing ourselves in the culture.”