Make-A-Wish^® New Jersey

Macy’s Welcomes Two Local Families as They Deliver Thousands of Letters in Memory of Make-A-Wish® Child

WHAT:

In celebration of National Believe Week, from Sunday, Nov. 29 through Saturday, Dec. 5, Macy’s, Make-A-Wish and community partners across the country will host virtual letter writing events and socially-distanced letter drop-offs for enhanced safety. For every letter written to Santa online at macys.com/believe or dropped off at Macy’s stores, Macy’s will double its donation, pledging $2 for each letter (up to an extra $1 million, above the existing $1 million campaign goal) to help children’s life changing wishes across America come true.

To help Macy’s reach its extra $1 million goal during National Believe Week, AJ Silvestri, a Make-A-Wish kid and junior at Old Bridge High School, along with Jillian Bresocnik, a fifth grader from Southwood Elementary School, teamed up this holiday season, collecting thousands of letters for Macy’s Believe campaign.

Since 2014, with the help of his community, AJ has collected more than 500,000 letters for the Believe campaign. However, this year’s delivery is a special one for both wish families. Jillian will carry a photo of her sister Kendall, to honor her memory on this special occasion that is important to her family. Throughout the years, Jillian and her sister, Kendall, were among AJ’s biggest supporters. The Bresocnik family wrote and collected more than 15,000 letters over the past several years. 

Last spring, seven-year-old Kendall was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. During her brief but fierce battle with the disease, Kendall’s wish for a swimming pool in her parent’s backyard was granted by Make-A-Wish New Jersey. Those who knew Kendall, remember the perpetual smile on her face, along with her love for rainbows and unicorns. This year, AJ, Jillian and all their supporters chose to honor the memory of Kendall by naming their holiday letter-writing effort “Believe in Unicorns”. 

Macy’s 13^th annual Believe letter-writing campaign helps wishes across America come true, delivering hope and joy to wish kids and their families when they need it most. From Monday, Oct. 26 through Thursday, Dec. 24, for every letter sent to Santa online at macys.com/believe or dropped off in Macy’s stores, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million. Start writing letters to Santa online here. For printable Santa postcards to print at home and drop off at Macy’s stores, click here.

MORE:

Make-A-Wish New Jersey granted AJ’s wish eight years ago. AJ, who has Cystic Fibrosis, a chronic, progressive genetic disease that affects specifically AJ’s lungs and gastrointestinal system, was granted his wish to meet the cast of  the History Channel show “Pawn Stars”.  He and his family had the opportunity to take the trip one week after Superstorm Sandy, when they watched the cast film a segment with AJ's favorite personality, Chum Lee. They also met the cast from the show "American Restoration”.

Since 2003, Macy’s has donated more than $132 million to Make-A-Wish, including more than $21 million through the retailer’s annual Believe campaign, helping grant more than 15,500 wishes and impact more than 3.1 million people, including wish kids and their families, volunteers, community groups, medical professionals and more. 

Health and safety continue to be a priority this holiday season. Macy’s 2020 Believe campaign offers virtual letter writing experiences ensuring customers and communities feel comfortable with enhanced safety measures in place.

CONTACT:

Carolyn Ng Cohen, Macy’s Media Relations

401.374.9192 / [email protected]

Michael Dominick, Make-A-Wish New Jersey

215.272.5032 / [email protected]