Make-A-Wish Illinois announces Erin DeFrieze of Silvis as the recipient of the 2022 Agile Award recognizing volunteers who have shown tenacity and selflessness in jumping into wishes requiring timely effort and attention due to the wish complexity or medical urgency.
Erin has been a wish granter since 2020. In this short time, she has volunteered to work with 16 wish children. Erin is now a team leader for a group of six wish discovery expert volunteers. The team's goal is to reduce the amount of time children are waiting to begin the discovery phase of their wish.
A wonderful resource for her volunteer team, Erin is also well respected by the mission delivery staff at Make-A-Wish Illinois. Her understanding of the overall wish process and paperwork means that she can manage common questions from other volunteers, building more efficiency in to volunteer/staff communications and allowing everyone to grant more wishes.
As for why she does this type of volunteer work, Erin says it really is all about the kids.
“I’ve worked with several kids who have become close to my heart, and I’m so inspired by their tenacity,” she shared.