I started volunteering as a wish granter 8 years ago. At that time, I didn’t really understand the Why. I didn’t understand how a wish impacted not only the wish child but the entire family. And I certainly didn’t know that a wish could bring light into the darkness that oftentimes settles around the family. So obviously, I was well qualified to start being a wish granter.
Let me share a bit about the very first wish I was a part of.
I drove to the family’s house and met my wish granting partner. We walked into the house and I was overcome by the darkness. The house although it had lots of windows were all covered with heavy curtains. The house was dimly lit and no one in the family was smiling. I tried to be the cheerleader. I asked all the questions and tried to keep the conversation upbeat but I started feeling the heaviness that this family carried daily.
Finally, it was time for the wish child to tell us his one true wish. His wish was to meet a celebrity. A little-known rapper named Marshall Mathers. (Eminem). Now I was super excited to find out why and what he saw his wish looking like. After we had all the details we left. We stayed in contact with the family and finally the wish child was getting his wish granted. A few weeks after the wish my partner and I went back to the house to hear about the wish.
Holy moly…. I thought I walked into the wrong house. It was bright. The curtains were all pulled aside, there was music and talking and everyone was smiling. I barely sat down before the entire family was telling me about the wish. The wish child who barely spoke when I first met him couldn’t stop chatting on about everything he and his family were able to do. How great Eminem was to them. He talked about gifts, bodyguards, dark suvs, no phones going to the recording studio, playing around in the studio with Eminem and how Eminem sat down and really talked to the kids. I was shown autographed shirts, cds, hats etc… there were baskets of goodies and the prize possession was a note written to the wish child from Eminem.
The darkness was gone. The heaviness that was weighing down the family was lifted. There was literally light in the home. The wish is oftentimes the light in the darkness. I saw it on the first wish and on dozens that have followed.
The wish kids are amazing and have come up with very impressive Wishes… trips to Australia, Paris, Alaska, campers, cozy rooms, playgrounds, shopping sprees, visits to celebrities and a quinceanera. No matter what the child thinks of Make A Wish goes above and beyond to fulfill that wish. But here is the best part… the wish is for the entire family. They all get a break from daily appointments, treatments and the constant stress of what’s next. There is power in a wish and I have seen it firsthand time and time again.
and for
Believing in the Power of a Wish