It’s April and we’re kicking off our inaugural World Wish Month. What is a World Wish Month? It’s a new way of getting those of you who have heard of Make-A-Wish but may not have joined us to volunteer, donate, or become involved in our mission to do so. Yes, Wishmakers are Wanted this month and every month! If you’re not sure how you want to become involved, take our WishMakers Wanted official quiz here - Home | Make-A-Wish Wishmakers Wanted. 

One degree of separation. When I was interviewing to become the President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, I pitched an idea I had to get to our goals here at the chapter. You see, our goal is to find every eligible child and get them the prescription of hope only Make-A-Wish can provide. The problem? There are no reports from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) or the Southern Nevada Health District that tell us how many kids between the ages of 2 ½ years old to 18 years old meet our criteria for a wish. Tough, right? The other half of this equation is that we need money to grant wishes. So, when faced with these challenges, I accepted it in a way, that is quintessentially Scott. You see, my idea is that if everyone in Southern Nevada had experienced a wish, knew we weren’t a dying wish, or knew someone who received a wish, we could use the community to help us grant every wish by helping us find every eligible child and also helping us fund these wishes! 

I know this sounds lofty, but I assure you, it’s more than just some fanciful idea; it’s an action plan and rallying cry for me. In the next five to ten years, we need to get EVERYONE in Southern Nevada involved in what we do. How do we do it? We start with media. Yes, I’m a media whore of sorts but the more I can talk about what we do, the more we have kids and families speak to the public and get our community partners to do the same, the closer we get to one degree of separation. 

How do I know it’s starting to work after two and a half years of working towards this goal? Recently, a construction company we work with all the time, Martin Harris Construction, contacted me. They had a mother reach out to them, who was reaching out to a lot of construction companies asking if they would donate services to expand their bathroom so her seventeen-year-old son could be more independent. My pals at Martin Harris reached out to me to see if this child had been referred. They hadn’t. We began to work with the family and the child’s medical professionals, and before you knew it, he was deemed eligible for a wish from our National office, which makes these decisions. Eventually, the kiddo decided on an all-terrain wheelchair so he could get back to hiking with his friends and family. We’re in the process of granting this wish now. 

But you see, if Martin Harris hadn’t been involved with us and didn’t know what we do, we could have missed getting this incredible kiddo, with a debilitating illness that has caused him to now be wheelchair-bound, his heartfelt wish. That is one degree of separation, my friends, and it gives me great hope that we’re moving in the right direction. 

So, now that you know our rallying cry, isn’t it time to become involved with us? It’s the perfect month, it’s World Wish Month, people! So, watch all the media in Southern Nevada in April, and you’ll see lots of us trying to get closer to our one degree of separation. A great way to start is to consider joining us at Walk for Wishes 2024 at Town Square! This is our love letter to our wish families and our community supporters, so whether you want to do the 5k fun run/walk, sample the food trucks, visit the petting zoo, or meet princesses, THIS is your chance. Please join us!!