Gearing up for April, dozens of Make-A-Wish supporters, including volunteer leaders, wish families, businesses and sponsors, made a commitment to become Wish Heroes by creating peer-to-peer fundraising pages to support our mission. With a goal of raising at least $1,000 each throughout the month of April, many of them went above and beyond to support the wishes of the community.
One of those hero teams is the Mastrangelos – husband and wife, Tony and Sydney – who stepped up in a big and creative way. While they encouraged family and friends to donate, they also contacted local small business owners. Very quickly, more than 20 businesses signed on to host fundraisers to support Tony and Sydney’s fundraising – a true testament to the power of community.
“We really put so much time and effort into reaching out to our network, and whether it was a bottle and can drive that brought in $4,000 or a family member who donated what they could to us, every bit was so meaningful,” says Tony. “The very first people to sign on were actually Sydney’s coworkers where she is a teacher and it was a simple jeans day fundraiser that got the ball rolling.”
And their ball continued to roll. Together, Tony, Sydney and their wide network of supporters raised more than $20,000 in a span of a month for Make-A-Wish – much larger than their original $1,000 goal. Tony and Sydney were motivated to give back after experiencing a tragedy this past December.
“We lost our baby at 13 weeks,” shared Sydney. “When you lose a child, it puts things into perspective.”
Tony adds, “We did a lot of soul searching and we knew we wanted to take our story and use it for good…turning it into hope…and that’s why we knew committing as Wish Heroes was the best way to make a difference.”
Wish Hero and devoted wish granting volunteer Kitty Picardo has a similar story, losing her daughter when she was just a newborn. She has made it her life journey to volunteer for causes that pull at her heart - Make-A-Wish being one of her main passions.
“The wish kids motivate me, and I wanted to raise money to make their dreams come true and to give them hope,” Kitty says. “That is the best feeling in the world.”
Like Tony and Sydney, Kitty aimed high and leaned on her network of connections to help her far exceed her goal. “One of my biggest donors gave double because of my passion for Make-A-Wish and supporting wish kids, who go through so much, and remain so brave.”
Wish hero, Mary Violanti turned her fundraising into a full family effort, inviting her daughters, son and niece to be part of her team. She says their motivating factor to fundraise well beyond $1,000 was knowing how much the pandemic has impacted Make-A-Wish and the families it serves.
“Make-A-Wish needs our support now as much as ever,” she says. “I wanted to do something because it’s such a helpless feeling. This has been a great way to engage those I know about why wishes are so important, but also spread the word about the organization’s financial needs.”
Mary and her team asked a local fitness studio to host a spin class and fashion show with all proceeds to benefit their team. This event helped close out their month-long efforts with a bang.
“That really upped our fundraising significantly,” Mary exclaims.
Mary, a former kindergarten teacher, as well as Kitty, Tony and Sydney all had different methods to creatively raise funds. But there is one thing they can agree on: the life-changing, powerful impact a wish has on a child with a critical illness.
“The excitement you see on a wish child’s face when their wish is granted, there is really nothing better,” Mary says.
“Knowing that our efforts gave hope to a child and their family, who are going through their worst journey, that meant everything to us,” Sydney explains.
The Wish Heroes campaign brought in $150,000 to support wishes chapter wide. To celebrate the Wish Heroes and their impressive fundraising totals, Make-A-Wish hosted a concert with Cami Clune from The Voice. You can still catch the concert, which aired on World Wish Day (April 29), by clicking on the link below:
World Wish Day Celebration Starring Cami Clune and Vitamin D3 - YouTube
Make-A-Wish continues to need your support especially as it enters the busiest time of the year. If you’d like to help create hope and be a wish hero yourself, click here to make your contribution today.
Thank you to our Western New York Wish Heroes Sponsors:
Bill Andrews, Brian Atkinson, Maxine Awner, Jeremy Ballsmith, Sarah Bain-Lucey, Stacey Bauch, Melissa Beyea, Peter Bordonaro, Jennifer Beckage, Bret Blakely, Erica Brienzi, Anthony Carello, Gavin Cera, Adam Clouden, Katrina Connelly, Jill Cross, Lacey Duemmer, James Ebenhoch, Brittany Fruchtel, Kim Gaylord, Butch Gedraitis, Tammy Gurowski, Cody Hewitt, The Hickey Family, Michael Jordan, Diane Kirchberger, Merrill Lynch, Sydney and Tony Mastrangelo, Nicole Kingsley Brunner, Caralyn Mirand Koch, Kevin McMaster, Kevin McMullen, Krissy Morber, Melissa Murray, Diane Nastasi, Kristie Norton, April Owczarczak, Daniel Palermo, Kitty Picardo, Josh Pryor, Tom Queri, Aly Raco, Taylor Reardon, Melody Simmons, Emily Smaldino, Greg Straus, Rebecca Turner, Katelyn Violanti, Kelsey Violanti, Kyle Violanti, Mary Violanti, Michael Wildt