After our recent and successful Fashion Luncheon 2024 event (to the tune of $1M raised to grant wishes for children with critical illnesses in Nevada), one of our Board Members came up to me and remarked that they are always amazed at how much I know about our families. As is often the case with events, things got a bit off schedule, so I was regaling the attendees with stories of our different wish kids and families while we waited. This is one of the things I pride myself on the most: our chapter is small enough to meet almost every family as they come through The Wishing Place to discover their wish, bring us paperwork, etc. Often, this is the very best part of my day. 

Our families tell us the stories of their child’s medical journey but also often share silly stories or stories that lead into why a child wants a particular wish. We get the incredible honor of listening to these stories with our volunteers, who handle the Discovery process for us, bringing us closer to them. I’m incredibly grateful for the Discovery rooms I’ve sat in to hear these stories or when I ask a wish kiddo if they’re getting close to determining a wish.  

Recently, we had a teenager determining their wish in The Wishing Place, and I asked what she was thinking about her wish. She was gaunt, in a beanie to cover what appeared to be a lack of hair and a little down, but when I asked about the wish, she lit up. She said she wanted a family vacation in Mexico because they had been there years before her cancer diagnosis, and they had the best yogurt there. She wanted a sombrero, but most importantly, she wanted to relive the time before she was sick when her family could go on vacations. You can’t argue with that “why” of her wish. When her dad came over, he told me she had just received her second treatment on the fourth and final round of chemotherapy, so she wanted to schedule her wish when she was done treatment. I assured him we had them, and when they were ready, we were ready to grant that wish.  

Stories make me think of kiddos like Izeah, who decided on a shopping spree for his wish. He lived with his grandmother, mother, and siblings. When it came to the “why” of his wish, Izeah said that he always got what he needed but didn’t always get what he wanted. He had never owned a brand-name tennis shoe, so that was at the top of his wish list, but he also said that for his lunch on his shopping spree, he wanted a steak at a restaurant as he had never had one in a restaurant before. Seeing this teenage boy light up as he talked about his wish and seeing him spend his money on his shoes and whatnot but also buying gifts for his grandmother and mother on the shopping spree tells you all you need to know about our kids. Even though they’re going through dark times, they want to bring light to others.  

At our Fashion Luncheon, no one can deny having Wish Kid, Elena, and her Mom, Nicole, speak was arguably the most impactful moment of the event. The wait staff stopped what they were doing to listen. The team running our technical needs, presentations, microphones, etc., were in tears watching these brave people share their stories.

I kid a lot about some days not being the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) but being the CBO (Chief Begging Officer), but what you’ll find is that if you say you’re interested in working with us to get kids wishes, you’ll find our first meetings will be all about me hearing your story. Only by better understanding our volunteers' or donors’ stories will I know where they best fit to help us succeed in our mission of granting children’s heartfelt wishes. Yes, my hand may come out eventually, but the “why” of what someone wants or does is always the most fascinating part to me and fuels me. 

Perhaps the best story I have ever heard that perfectly exemplifies our mission and what we do is a story our former national CEO told at a conference. He went to one of our 58 chapters across the United States and found himself face-to-face with a wish kiddo in the process of determining his wish. The wish kiddo was a young boy in a wheelchair. He asked the boy what his wish was, and the boy quickly and confidently said, “I want a boy bunny.” Our CEO inquired as to why a boy. The wish kiddo immediately responded that he was a boy and, therefore, he wanted a boy bunny. Delving deeper our CEO asked, “Why a bunny?” And the boy replied, “Because bunnies run fast, and someday I want to run fast like a bunny.” THAT’S our mission. We provide hope. I don’t know if this child is permanently in a wheelchair, but what I do know is that his wish to have a boy bunny gives him something to look forward to, allows him to have hope, and I have every confidence, regardless of what doctors may say, he will run fast like a bunny someday, in part because his wish gave him hope to believe. That’s how our kiddos' stories change our lives.  

Some days, like anyone else, I’m feeling down or as if I don’t want to get out of bed, and I think of this child, whom I never met, and ask myself if lying in bed is better than providing the prescription of hope only Make-A-Wish can provide? It’s not long before I’m out of bed, with a spring in my step and ready to face the task of getting every eligible child their wish. 

What’s your story?