It was meant to be. Those are the five words Irwin keeps coming back to when he talks about the early days of Make-A-Wish® Oregon. He was among a small, determined group of big-hearted people sitting around a kitchen table, trying to figure out how to make local children’s wildest dreams come true.
Once you get involved in this thing, it sucks you in. Which is a wonderful thing.
Irwin
Irwin and his father.
So how did it all start? For Irwin, it started with his father. He wrote for Variety Magazine. Irwin says when the phone rang growing up, it wasn’t unusual to pick up the mouthpiece and have an icon on the other end. We’re talking about Danny Kaye. Bob Hope. They would call to catch up with his dad as they passed through Portland. Irwin learned a quick phone call could make big things happen – and it’s a lesson he never forgot.
In March 1983, just a week after his father lost a battle with colon cancer, Irwin saw a story that inspired him to pick up the phone.
“I’m reading in the local paper about this boy who wants to go to Disneyland and is sick,” said Irwin. The paper ran the story to gather support and raise funds for the family, but Irwin knew another way to make it happen. “Why do they need money for this? Let’s just get it done!”
One day later, Irwin had the family’s contact info. He knew when they wanted to take the trip and he got to work. Just like he had seen his father do before, Irwin picked up the phone and called the Disneyland press relations department. By the end of the day, he had park tickets, a hotel, flights and a chauffeur reserved.
“Then I called the family and said, ‘Here’s your trip!’ They went and had a great time.”
Irwin’s wife Annie was so inspired, Irwin said she looked at him and said, “The was wonderful! Why don’t we do this for some other people?”
A week later Irwin and Annie first heard the words ‘Make-A-Wish.’
“We were watching national news and a story about Chris Greicius and Make-A-Wish in Arizona came on. Annie looked at me and said, ‘You’re calling those people Monday morning,” said Irwin.
Little did I know that phone call was going to change my life.
Irwin
Irwin was soon connected with a small group of people also working to grant wishes in Oregon. They were working on Make-A-Wish Oregon’s first wish. A little boy named Sam loved the TV show CHiPS and he was about to meet the star, Erik Estrada.
“Sam’s wish was spectacular,” said Irwin. Then, it was time to figure out how they could do more. “We kind of made a pact at the beginning, saying if we’re going to do this, we have to do it perfectly.”
“Once you get involved with these kids and these families, you want to do it right.”
For months, they had repeated conversations trying to figure out how to gain trust and raise funds. Irwin kept picking up that phone.
“If we couldn’t get it for free, that was a problem,” says Irwin. “I was really good about, ‘I know a guy.’ And if I didn’t know a guy, I’d find a guy.”
He remembers cold calling a race car driver, who without hesitation, granted a boy’s wish and even gave the boy the winning trophy at the finish line. Irwin remembers helping a girl attend the Preakness and sit in the winner's circle with the winning horse. Irwin will never forget the moment famous wrestler Roddy Piper put a sleeper hold on a wish dad in his own living room after he asked if wrestling was actually real.
Eventually, Make-A-Wish Oregon made it on TV for the incredible work they were doing, and Irwin and the other volunteers slowly started to get their footing. “Over the next 6 months, we went from zero to heroes,” said Irwin.
More volunteers and funders came forward to join the mission.
Irwin with his family.
Irwin's wife, Annie, at a holiday event.
Hulk Hogan granting wishes.
Roddy Piper granting wishes.
There were a lot of wonderful people who made this happen. Without those volunteers, this thing would never work.
Irwin
Irwin with original Make-A-Wish shirt.
He says it’s vital that your involvement comes from your heart. His motivation surely has. When asked why he kept pushing for the success of Make-A-Wish Oregon, Irwin took a deep breath, mentioned his wife and two beautiful kids, then said, “My why, is because it needed to be done.”
Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Oregon has granted the wishes of more than 5,000 children living in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. Right now, more than 385 local families are waiting for their wishes to come true. You can become a Wishmaker by donating today. You don’t even have to pick up the phone, just click here and The Marie Lamfrom Chartiable Foundation will match all donations up to $300,000 in honor of World Wish Month.
When Irwin thinks about how far Make-A-Wish has come, there’s a visible brightness across his face. You can see a slight crinkle next to his eye as his cheeks lift to a smile.
“It’s just been wonderful through the years, just been incredible. You know, it was meant to be.”