Idaho Wish Alum Karli Is Helping the Arizona Chapter Grant Wishes

Karli is originally from the Coeur d’Alene area, but she lives in Arizona now, a recent graduate of Arizona State University where she studied public policy and public service. She works as a community engagement intern for Make-A-Wish® Arizona and has been helping them get ready for an upcoming volunteer recognition event. Her internship is ending in a few weeks, and she hopes to one day work for the Make-A-Wish Foundation permanently. 

Her experiences with Make-A-Wish started in 2016. During her freshman year of high school, she was in the emergency room for nearly a month because her lungs were failing. She was transferred to Seattle and then Washington D.C. Along the way, Karli was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder that causes weakness in her lung muscles, shoulders, hip flexors as well as spinal issues and it was after recovering from spinal surgery, that someone told Karli that she was eligible for a wish through Make-A-Wish® Idaho.

Karli was hesitant at first, believing incorrectly, like so many, that wishes were for kids who had a low or no chance of survival.  “I was in denial," she said.  "I was like I’m OK. Let’s offer the wish to other kiddoes.” However, Karli has a cousin who works for the Make-A-Wish Foundation who explained to Karli that most wish kids survive and that a wish was every kid’s dream and that she should take it. So, of course, she did.

Karli chose a shopping spree wish. “The premise was a capsule wardrobe. I always loved coordinating outfits,” she said. Make-A-Wish Idaho hired a personal shopper, somebody who was versed in all the latest fashions and looked for new trends. “I still wear a lot of the stuff I bought. When I talk about being a wish kid, sometimes I am wearing something I bought.” She says her favorite item from the shopping spree is a Fendi wallet because it was something she’d never buy for herself otherwise.

Karli’s wish fell during the pandemic. It was a dark and lonely time for her and a lot of people, but she says her wish was a real bright spot.

 “My wish happened during COVID. I was trying not to focus on my medical history and the unknown. Each package that arrived felt like a million wish boosts. There was nothing else going on, except binging the next Netflix series. But every day I got to go to my door to see if there was a new package. This went on for a month and a half. It was a lot of positive at a low point in not just my, but everyone’s life.”

Now, Karli is able to pay her wish forward working for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “I tell all my coworkers that from a wish kid’s perspective, you get to meet the volunteers and the wish granters, but you don’t know the backbone that goes into the Make-A-Wish organization. I get to go to the Wish House (the name of the AZ chapter’s building) three times a week and be around so many passionate individuals and help kiddoes with critical illnesses who are having a positive time in their lives. It’s amazing. I only want to continue it.”