Back Row: Teri Mersinger, Kathy Eames, Laura Huerta, Delia Laughlin, Kathy Reinke, Trena Wells, Jeanne Wuellner, Sue Messerli Front Row: Norma Glazebrook, Cheryl Schultz, Michelle Brauner Not pictured: Kim Kimes, Kathy Neville, Alexis Nolan, and Ann Stolte
Make-A-Wish Illinois announces the Metro East Regional Council as the recipient of the 2021 Group Commitment to Community Award for building awareness and support for wishes through the creation of referrals, volunteer recruitment, community organization engagement and wish granting support.
In Illinois communities east of St. Louis, wish children and their families often come to know one or more of the members of the Metro East Regional Council of Make-A-Wish Illinois volunteers. Through events and personal connections as well as the wish granting efforts of several individual council members, this committed group of individuals is the reason that many of the families are connected to Make-A-Wish.
Sue Messerli, who chairs the Metro East Regional Council noted that the group is made up of volunteers who bring their many different types of expertise and knowledge about their communities in the area to give important feedback on the work they do to grant wishes and raise funds in the area.
“Since becoming a Make-A-Wish volunteer, it has allowed me to see that these kids have been given hope,” said Sue. “When we first meet with wish children and their families, you can see the stress on their faces from the hospital visits and the unknown. Later, when you talk to them about their wish, you see this glow and smile on their faces… It lets me know that there is hope and good in the world!”
While the group has always planned fundraising and alumni events, 2020 presented a special challenge to doing the work they love to do. Their ingenuity served them well as they reworked their planned walk into a wonderful winter-themed Hot Chocolate Walk that both engaged local businesses and offered walkers a fun activity to participate in at their own comfort levels while still raising money for wishes.
“Their ability to come together as volunteers to support one another and the mission is beyond measure,” said Laura Huerta, community engagement manager for Make-A-Wish Illinois. “Whenever there is a need, this group steps up and answers the call.”
“Nothing will hold me back from granting a wish of a child who is brave enough to dream it up,” council member Norma Glazebrook said when speaking about her work with Make-A-Wish a few years ago. “It is my job to not only grant children’s wishes, but to set an example for others in the community on how they can help out children in need.”
That dedication is shared by all the members of the Metro East Regional council and translates into hope and strength for wish children across southern Illinois.
“It is an honor to work with this group of creative, dedicated and all-around wonderful humans,” Huerta added.