Wish Alum Faith Gives Back to Make-A-Wish
February 2, 2020
Monroe Township - A special and heartwarming event took place at Macy’s Ocean County Mall in Toms River, New Jersey this holiday season. Make-A-Wish recipient, six-year-old Faith Calvo, also of Toms River, was determined to give back to the organization that granted her a life-changing wish in 2017 and collected holiday letters to deliver to Macy’s as part of the National Believe Campaign.
From the beginning of November through December 24th, “believers” of all ages mailed letters to Santa at the big red letterbox at any local Macy’s store. For every letter received, Macy’s committed to donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million, to help grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses.
On the evening of December 17th, escorted by a motorcade of firetrucks from multiple area fire departments, Faith arrived at Macy’s to a cheering crowd and delivered an astounding 1,072 letters.
Faith’s impressive collection of holiday letters came from across her community, including the Ocean Beach Volunteer Fire Company, the East Dover Volunteer Fire Company, the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company, East Dover Elementary School, Intermediate East Middle School, Silver Bay Elementary School, Cub Scout & Boy Scout Packs 92 & 59 of Silverton, and Ocean Gymnastics.
“We all chose to collect letters again this year because of the amazing things Make-A-Wish did for our family when Faith was diagnosed,” shared her father Drew Calvo, who also serves as Chief of the Ocean Beach Volunteer Fire Company. “When the fire companies and the community found out, they all jumped on board.”
Faith, who has courageously battled a life-threatening and critical illness, was granted her fondest wish to go on a Disney Cruise Line® Cruise in 2017. Faith’s wish was an experience of a lifetime and created life-changing memories she’ll never forget.
“It was just amazing!” her father shared. “The wish was a celebration of her completion of all her long and hard cancer treatments.”
“Being able to give back is one of the best feelings in the world,” he continued. “To be able to see Faith get so excited and involved in helping out an organization that was there for us and so many other families just feels great!”
With support from the Macy’s Believe campaign, Make-A-Wish provides children with critical illnesses the chance to experience life beyond their illness and see their most heartfelt wish come true, allowing them to replace fear with confidence, anxiety with hope and sadness with joy. Since 2003, Macy’s has donated more than $122 million to Make-A-Wish, including more than $19 million through the annual Believe campaign.
For more information about Make-A-Wish New Jersey, visit nj.wish.org.