Brittany Fitzgerald - Make-A-Wish Volunteer of the Year
Brittany Fitzgerald is one-of-a-kind and an incredible member of our Make-A-Wish family. She is a wish sister and a champion of our mission – and she’s also the recipient of Make-A-Wish’s Suzie Allen Volunteer of the Year Award! This award honors a volunteer that embodies the spirit of volunteerism and has served as a source of inspiration for fellow volunteers, wish families and Make-A-Wish staff, and has promoted a sense of community while serving as an ambassador, going above and beyond in all aspects of volunteering for Make-A-Wish.
Brittany's brother, Andrew, was diagnosed with cancer when he was nine years old, and Brittany was only 10. He began seeing double and was brought into the pediatrician, then things moved quickly. After an eye examination and an MRI, Brittany's parents received difficult news - Andrew had a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball. He was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia immediately.
Andrew received surgery that day and began his battle with cancer. This was tough enough on the family, though they were hit again six months later – their dad was diagnosed with cancer as well. Years later, Brittany’s mom would begin her own battle on and off with cancer.
Years later, Brittany’s mom would begin her own battle on and off with cancer.
To Brittany, Andrew’s wish was the light that her family desperately needed after shuttling from one hospital to the next, with two family members fighting for their lives. Each evening after school, the question was not what she was doing, of but what hospital was she visiting. The family's trip to Disneyland® brought them a moment of normalcy and a thing to look forward to during a very dark time.
Today, Brittany strives to provide that same life-changing experience to every family dealing with the unfathomable.
After Andrew’s wish, Brittany knew she wanted to get more involved with Make-A-Wish in the future. While attending Queens University in Canada, she became a Wish Granter at Make-A-Wish Canada. When Brittany eventually moved to New York City, she became the Board Chair for our Junior Board, a group of professionals under the age of 40 who are dedicated to supporting and promoting the Make-A-Wish mission. They provide leadership support for fundraising efforts, recruit prospective leaders and help in the strategic planning efforts of the organization.
During Brittany’s time volunteering as Junior Board Chair, we saw significant growth in the group. She brought in 14 new members and created chair positions with clear job descriptions to ensure members can be more involved and grow from their time on the Junior Board to hopefully one day, the Board of Directors. Knowing the power of our mission, she also pushed to have a requirement for each Junior Board member to grant at least two wishes a year. Because of this, during her time as chair, over 120 wishes were taken on and granted by Junior Board members. She has been key to inspiring and motivating members of the group to fully understand and experience the power of a wish. Her leadership has paved the way for generations to come.
If being Chair, wasn’t enough, Brittany pushed to take the lead on the Junior Board’s signature event – Toast to Wishes – which she helped transform into the groundbreaking event that it is today. She collaborated with staff to send daily updates to the group, reached out to every Junior Board member to ensure they were engaged with their fundraising, and helped plan the event itself. Under her leadership, we most successful Toast to Wishes ever – selling out the event a week early (which had never been done before) with over 600 attendees raising over $300,000. Her time and commitment volunteering to grow this event are shown through the incredible achievements she reached as a leader.
In her last year as chair (2019-2020) Brittany helped to create a new program, the Young Professionals Program, a networking group with the collective goal of raising funds and serving as advocates on behalf of children with critical illnesses in our community. In the past eight months, the group has launched and has been extremely successful, bringing in 28 new members and an additional $34,000 for our wish kids.
Brittany is committed to inspiring others within her network to support wish kids. She designed and implemented three annual Corporate Engagement & Volunteerism days with over 200 Goldman Sachs volunteers at local New York City children’s hospitals in support of the mission, with efforts now being replicated by Morgan Stanley and Rutgers University. The events were impactful engagement opportunities for our chapter, wish kids, wish families, volunteers and local corporations.
Brittany has served as a resource for our chapter volunteering to thank local donors and accompany our team to pitches and trainings for corporations to share her story and perspective on the importance of our mission.
Most importantly, Brittany is a committed and avid wish granter. Brittany served as a resource for our chapter as a Wish it Forward volunteer. She actively thanks local donors on behalf of chapter staff and accompanies staff to visit corporations to share her story and firsthand perspective of the importance of our mission. She has personally volunteered and granted over 23 wishes – 13 in our local chapter. When we struggled to engage volunteers in our outer boroughs, she made it her mission to grant wishes there to ensure we reach our vision of granting the wish of every eligible child.
Brittany Fitzgerald is one of a kind and an inspiration to all of us at Make-A-Wish. Words aren’t enough to show her commitment, passion, and heart. We know no better person to receive the Suzie Allen Volunteer of the Year Award.