Wish Alum, Arabian Horse Association Youth National Champion & Carteret Resident Gives Back By Participating in Annual Monroe Township Event on October 20th 2019
October 09, 2019
Monroe Township, NJ - On Sunday, October 20th, Make-A-Wish New Jersey will host its annual Walk & Roll For Wishes at the Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place in Monroe Township, New Jersey – the magical and whimsical wish granting castle that Make-A-Wish New Jersey calls home. The annual event will raise vital funds needed for their mission to create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Guests of all ages and abilities are invited to join the annual “walk and roll” event as an individual or as part of a team, and can register in advance at nj.wish.org/walk. Participants will enjoy a
non-competitive, wheelchair-friendly course down Perrineville Road in Monroe Township and throughout the castle grounds, followed by a fun-filled day of music, entertainment, games, food and more.
Among the nearly 1,000 participants will be a familiar face – wish alum and Carteret resident, Olivia Rae Vargas, whose wish to go to Walt Disney World was granted in 2011.Olivia was recently named National Champion at the 2019 Arabian Horse Association Competition and through her success in the horseback riding community, she is raising funds for Make-A-Wish New Jersey’s annual Walk & Roll for Wishes on October 20th.
Olivia was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by facial differences. Complications from TCS may include, but are not limited to, difficulty breathing, vision problems and hearing loss. At 16 months old Olivia's medical condition took a turn for the worse and her family found Olivia fighting for her life. By the time she was three years old, she had spent a third of her life behind hospital walls.
“As we drove numerous times back and forth to the hospital, one day I looked up and a Make-A-Wish New Jersey billboard was the only thing in my vision,” her mother Suzanne Ashby shared. “I smiled, but not knowing why. Days later, I put in a referral and shortly after a representative reached out to me. Volunteers entered our home and asked Olivia "if you could wish for anything what would it be?". Olivia was a huge Disney princess fanatic, as she loved all the princesses and their castles and the magic that they possess. She always loved all the happy endings. With help of the volunteers, Olivia’s wish to go to Walt Disney World for her third birthday was granted.”
Olivia's wish to go to the Walt Disney World Resort was something her family saw as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For an entire week, they watched as Olivia walked with her head held high, smiling with not a care in the world. She was only excited to see what would come next. Halfway through the trip, she shared with her parents that she “felt like a princess too.”
“As a parent you really don't grasp the empowerment of a wish until after,” Suzanne continued. “Medical care has increasingly continued, but Olivia has been stronger and has recovered faster than ever before, even when things didn't go as planned.”
In October of 2016, Olivia found a new love – horses - and joined Desiderio, Ltd. where she learned to take care of horses as equine therapy. Shortly after, with great encouragement by owner and trainer Dana Desiderio, she began to ride. However, up until 2018, she was not able to compete as much as she wanted to due to ongoing surgeries, but luckily was able to qualify and attend youth nationals.
“For the next year, I trained really hard and was able to accomplish my dream,” Olivia shared. “I became the 2019 US National Champion in Arabian & Half Arabian Hunt Seat Equitation Not to Jump Walk Trot 10 and Under at Arabian Horse Association Youth Nationals, held in Oklahoma City, OK this past July. Make-A-Wish New Jersey not only gave me a wish, they also gave me hope, inspiration and determination. They allowed me to grow stronger and know that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to.”
With her new title and recognition in the national horseback riding community, Olivia has set a goal to raise enough funds to grant another child’s wish through the annual Walk & Roll For Wishes. To make a donation to Olivia’s team page and help her reach her goal of $11,000, visit her donation page here.
“We have seen firsthand the power of wish and we believe that it was the wish that posed a greater outcome - physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Suzanne shared.
Make-A-Wish New Jersey has been creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses for over 35 years, bringing hope into the lives of nearly 11,000 children and families when they needed it most. In the fight against a critical illness, a wish helps kids look past their limitations, families overcome anxiety and entire communities experience joy.
Join Olivia at the Walk & Roll For Wishes at Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place on Sunday October 20th and help make future wishes come true, too. Onsite registration begins at 9:00AM and the Walk & Roll will kick off at 10:00AM. Sign up at nj.wish.org/walk.
For more information on the event, visit nj.wish.org/walk or email Sheri Kirkpatrick, Director of Internal & External Events, at [email protected].