Did You Know...
that there are more than 200 volunteers involved in virtually every aspect of the Foundation's operations, from wish granting to office operations, from fund raising to speaking engagements.
Join Our E-Family!
We are always looking for better and more cost effective ways to communicate with our Make-A-Wish Family. Join our "E-Family" and you can receive newsletters, event invitations, updates and lots of other great Make-A-Wish information via e-mail.
Upcoming Events
volunteering
“I wish to meet David Wright”
Vince, age 11
Wish Adopted by: Honda Mission Valley
Dear Make-A-Wish,
I wanted to thank you and to tell you how you have impacted our family’s life. After our 11-year old son Vince was diagnosed with bone cancer, we became a “wish family.” The diagnosis was a shock and life changed quickly. We went from being a regular family to one that spent days and weeks in the hospital, with all the accompanying separations, stress, and side effects.
A few months after diagnosis, we were referred to Make-A-Wish and met with our wish granters. They brought us a chance to dream, to imagine, and to wonder. They stressed that the wish was for Vince, yet the whole family would participate.
Vince knew what he wanted right away – to play catch with David Wright, the 3rd baseman for the New York Mets. Though he never deviated from his choice, coming up with other crazy wish ideas became a game that provided our family with many hours of fun and laughter.
Dreaming about wishes gave Vince a goal for feeling better. He was motivated to work through physical therapy sessions and began to think about the day that he would be done with treatment and feel healthy enough to get on the baseball field. Meanwhile, Vince’s little sister Carlee dreamed about visiting the American Girl Doll Store and our family researched things to do while in New York City. As we looked forward to the wish, chemo treatments and hospital stays took a backseat in our minds.
The wish was everything Vince hoped for and more. David Wright was exceedingly gracious, spent the entire pre-game time with Vince, playing catch, giving him a pair of his cleats, and even allowing him to take batting practice with the team. As I watched my son swing a bat against major league pitchers, it was hard to believe that just nine months earlier he was struggling to get up out of a wheelchair to take his first steps after a surgery that replaced one third of his thigh bone with a metal rod.
One of our favorite family memories of the trip was visiting the American Girl Doll Store. The joy on Carlee’s face as she raced around showing us all the various dolls was exceeded only by the hysterics of watching Vince’s funny faces as he sat through an afternoon tea surrounded by little girls and their dolls.
We have been so pleasantly surprised to find that even after the wish, we remain part of the Make-A-Wish family, sharing in the fun of special activities throughout the year. Vince has helped at the Make-A-Wish Golf Classic and was an honorary team captain for the Cal Bears during the Poinsettia Bowl.
Make-A-Wish does so much more than make a special day for a sick child, you are truly helping to make family connections. Thank you, not just for the wonderful wish trip, but also for continuing to find ways to brighten all of our lives. Thankfully, Vince is now cancer free, but he will continue to have treatments and checkups and constant reminders of what he has been through. Fortunately, he will also always remember his amazing wish!
Sincerely,
Vickie (Wish Mom)