Make a Wish is an incredible organization that made our last family trip together the most extraordinary, memorable, incredible vacation our family has ever experienced. We went to the British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland. Both my husband and son were diagnosed with high-risk cancer 6 months apart. (My was treated City of Hope and my husband was treated at UCLA Medical Center across town.) This wish granted my son turned out to be our last trip as a family because my husband suddenly died from a complication from his leukemia. It was such an amazing trip for both my husband and son who love golf. It was made even better by Melissa Joan Hart who provided four passes to the hospitality tent for our family. It was simply wonderful! I will be eternally grateful to Make a Wish for this incredible memory for our family!
I have served on the board of the organization for almost three years now. Every member of the staff of this organization is passionate, efficient and professional. We are blessed with extremely high quality people who work tirelessly to ensure that almost 500 children per year have wishes come true. I am privileged to experience first-hand the Foundation’s 30-year mission of granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. What attracted me most to this cause is the healing power of the wish for the children and families alike. The wish process begins with a child and a family, faced with a life-threatening illness, who find themselves at the deepest point of despair. A family’s life, full of life, hope and dreams, is derailed and redefined by the shock of the possibility of losing a child and the overwhelming medical submersion that follows.
The entire wish process, followed by the actual wish itself, gives these children and families something exciting and positive to focus on, look forward to and ultimately experience. I have been amazed and inspired to hear the numerous stories of kids and their families who attribute the wish process itself as the reason for a child’s successful fight against his or her illness.