Excerpt from President & CEO Tom Weatherall’s 2014 Thanksgiving Message
We received a gift this week. A gift in the form of a car. This car would not be driven nor would it be sold, but instead, we will take great care to protect it, and share its story, here at our castle. The initial purchase negotiation by its last owner, and the woman who has gifted it to us, reveals much about its meaning to us - as it was so meaningful to her, and a little boy.
“The woman pressed the car salesman, ‘Is this a good car, or is it going to need a bunch of work on it a few months down the road? I’m asking because I can’t afford to have a lot of mechanic bills. My son has leukemia, and I need a reliable car for transportation to and from the doctor and hospital. I would appreciate it if you would be totally honest with me.’
The salesman sat behind his desk, leaned back in his chair, and just gazed at the woman, and her young son, for a minute. Then he leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk. ‘Young lady, the car will run perfectly, and you won’t have any problems with it. I will see to it myself. I promise you.’”
Excerpt from Little Bubble Gum Trooper
Good on him, that car salesman kept his word! That ‘slightly used, almost new’ car left the lot that October day in 1978 with less than 1,800 miles on it. Today it has 92,000 miles, the last 2,500 it traveled were on a trailer, brought cross-country with great care, and respect. This car brought that precious young boy to many doctor visits, and hospital stays. Eventually, it would also bring ‘Mommie’ many, oh so many times to visit her son’s gravesite.
Since the death of the little boy in 1980, over 250,000 (now 300,000) wishes have been granted. One might say, granted in his name. You see, the boy was Chris Greicius, whose life - and death - was the inspiration for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. His mother, Linda Bergendahl-Pauling, was one of the founders, in fact, she’s often fondly called the ‘Founding Mother’ of Make-A-Wish.
In her book, Little Bubble Gum Trooper, A Mother’s True Story of How The Make-A-Wish Foundation Began, Linda recalls her negotiation, after hearing the salesman’s assurance ‘Young lady, the car will run perfectly, and you won’t have any problems with it. I will see to it myself. I promise you’, Linda writes, ‘I looked him straight in the eye. Ok, we’ll take it!’ Chris clasped his hands and shouted with all the enthusiasm of a Heisman Trophy winner. ‘We got it! We got it! We got the little car Mommie!’
A couple of weeks later, we went to the movies to see Herbie the Love Bug. As we drove home that night Chris was jumping up and down in the car, ‘Mommie, Mommie, we have a Herbie! We have a Herbie.’ I turned to him, smiled, and laughed with him. ‘We sure do, Christopher, we sure do.’
Just as Herbie the Love Bug took care of his owners, Chris and I knew that our little Herbie would take care of us, too, no matter what.”
On behalf of the greater Make-A-Wish New Jersey family, thank you, Linda, for the gift of yours’ and Chris’ Herbie. Know that we are just as excited as Chris was the day your brought it home, and quite humbled, that you entrust its care to us.
But more so, thank you, along with your son, for inspiring this magnificently seemingly simple but oh so wildly powerful mission. Along with our board and staff, volunteers and donors, we will continue to take great care of children like Chris, here in New Jersey.
We will see to it ourselves. We promise you!