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Sometimes when John Villanueva is out on the town, a wish alum will approach him and ask, “Do you remember me?”  

When a wish kid spots John, that child sees someone who made their fondest wish come true at a challenging and scary time. “All the family comes and hugs me,” he says. “Oh my God, that’s fantastic.” John is a longtime wish granter, but he also knows what it feels like to be one of those family members.  

Twenty years ago, John’s niece faced her own diagnosis at age 12. “I’m the proud, proud wish uncle of Samantha,” he says. “When I found out she got leukemia, I was actually surprised. I thought cancer was just for older folks.” 

When Make-A-Wish granted Samantha’s wish to go to Disney World with her mom, sister, and grandparents, John thought it was “amazing, fantastic.” He loved hearing about her adventures and seeing the photos. “That’s all they were talking about for a whole two weeks when they got back,” he says. “It’s profound. It just dramatically changed their outlook, of positivity and hope.” 

John doesn’t remember hearing about Make-A-Wish before that trip—but Samantha’s experience got him excited about the organization’s mission. “I said, you know what? I have to get involved with this charity,” he says. 

He discovered a group of volunteers in Watsonville that met once a month at a Holiday Inn. He met some exceptional people there, and they even served chocolate chip cookies, which he jokes clinched it for him. 

“I was running through my mind all the positivity that I could bring to kids,” he says. “I was just loaded with anticipation, like a little kid in a candy store after hearing all the stories that they were sharing. I did not have a dry eye after leaving that place.”

John often helps grant wishes to Spanish-speaking families along the Central Coast. “I love it, number one,” he says. “And two, Hispanic families, among other families, are very humble.” 

Sometimes, he says, they’re so humble, that they’re resistant to accepting help from nonprofits like Make-A-Wish. So, John says, “No, no, no, we want to make this about the child—give them the experience.” Then he adds that a wish is an opportunity for the family to forget about doctors and medicines and treatments.  

“They’re going through a lot,” he says. “There can be economic things involved, stresses. So, we have to really just be on their side. Like, ‘I can empathize with what you’re going through and let’s make this better.’” 

His first goal is to put the family at ease. “Here’s my biggest secret weapon—be funny,” he says. “When I come into the house, I’ll say, ‘Hello, are you the wish kid?’ and I’m looking at the dad. He’s like, ‘No, what are you talking about?’ And there’s a little dog. ‘Are you the wish kid?’ And they’re just cracking up. It kind of breaks the ice.” 

John has helped grant all kinds of wishes—from bedroom transformations to shopping sprees. He’s granted many Disney wishes, including one for a boy named Jorge. More than a decade after Jorge’s wish, John, a real estate agent, met with some new clients who seemed surprised to see him. They happened to be Jorge’s aunt and uncle and longtime guardians, Jose and Fabiola. Jose said, “About twelve to thirteen years ago, you were our wish granter, and now you’re helping us buy our house.” 

“I get choked up about it now,” John says. “Truly, it was a special circumstance. Now they’re my real estate clients, and Jorge finished school and he’s doing great things with his life. They’re just extended family to me.” 

For John, no wish kid—or wish family—is a stranger. “That could be my child, that could be my grandchild, that could be any of my family,” he says. “And actually, it was.” 

When John meets with a wish family, he often shares Samantha’s wish story. “She’s now 38 and thriving,” he says. “She’s finished school, and she’s got two beautiful babies and is involved in her church. She’s doing amazing. A bunch of the dose of medicine is being positive, is having hope, is knowing, ‘You know what? I’m going to get through this.’ I see myself or my family in the other families just like mine.” 

John likes to go the extra mile—giving an extra hug or high five, adding some humor or being a bit silly. As he says, he likes to weave “a little bit of Robin Williams” into the experience.  

Granting wishes lifts his own spirits too. “I actually get more out of helping than what I give,” he says. “If we can just make wish kids the star of the show—to see that smile, to see that tear, to see them say, ‘Wow, I was able to go this place’ that they normally wouldn’t have been able to go to. Man, that just fires me up!”