I wish to help the environment
David, wish granted in 2008
cancer
Our 5,000th wish: David gets renewed energy
As a kid in the 2000s, David was fascinated by renewable energy and its potential to reduce global warming. He worked on several science projects, hoping his ideas would one day help improve the environment.
When he was diagnosed with leukemia, David's focus shifted toward his health and his treatment.
“I was only supposed to be in the hospital for a few weeks. Then weeks became months,” said David in a 2015 interview. “It was hard to remember what normal felt like. When I found out my wish was going to come true, I felt a lot better than I had in a very long time.”
Wanting to return to his passion for renewable energy, David wished to help the environment. David's wish came true in 2008, and it was the 5,000th wish granted by Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. The community came together to make it a special one!
David's father, Derek (left), wish kid David, and the President of LS9, Bob Walsh, at the Green Bus Awards after David received the Environmental Trailblazer Award from the San Francisco Business Times.
David wanted to meet scientists who were involved in renewable energy research and share his ideas and portfolio of projects with them. Make-A-Wish sent David on a tour to meet with innovators and leaders in the field, which included stops at renewable energy companies, green venture capital firms, and international scientific conferences.
David's wish tour kicked off on June 12, 2008, at the Green Business Awards, hosted by the San Francisco Business Times at the Fairmont San Francisco. David spoke and presented and award, and received an award himself—the Environmental Trailblazer Award.
During the award ceremony, David’s mother, Marie, shared, “What really amazed David was the number of people there who actually listened to what he was saying.”
David’s next stop was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a company that invested in Greentech innovation and entrepreneurs. This was David's first opportunity to present his project portfolio, which impressed several of the company's partners. Partner John Doerr, who was well-known in the industry for his passion for green technology innovation and for his backing of exceptional social and policy entrepreneurs, met with David for two hours.
Next, he spent an afternoon at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, meeting with several scientists in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. David toured the lab, watched a demonstration of the world’s most powerful microscope, and met with lab director and Nobel laureate Steve Chu.
Then, David visited the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, where he met scientists working on cutting-edge green technologies and got a personalized tour of the NASA Exploration Center.
“I was most excited about meeting scientists who did amazing things and were willing to show me their labs and research work,” David said. “I was also amazed at the amount of time people spent with me telling me about their work and ideas and that they would also listen to my ideas.”
David finished his tour at Bloom Energy, which develops a flexible fuel cell system that produces clean, reliable, and affordable energy from a wide range of fuels. He met with KR Sridhar, the principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy.
David enjoying his private tour at NASA in September 2008.
Wish kid David during his tour of the NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, with the former Senior Advisor, Jack Boyd in September 2008.
David during a lab demonstration at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab in August 2008.
David's mother, Marie, David, and CEO of Bloom Energy, KR Sridhar, in September 2008.
“It was gratifying to see everyone so curious about David and his projects,” said Patricia Wilson, then-executive director of Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. “Probably the best advice he got was from KR Sridhar, who said, ‘From one inventor to another, never accept an answer if you believe something different. Go in search of the truth.’”
Since David’s wish, he continued to give back by fundraising for Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. He led an effort to raise funds at his school through the Pocketful of Wishes program and participated in the Walk for Wishes fundraiser for over five years.
When reflecting on his wish and why he gives back, David shared in an interview in 2015: “My wish gave my family and I something happy to look forward to. And it's great to be with other families that have had similar experiences, to give something back and help another family feel good about something.”