I'm raising money for Make-A-Wish to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses. It's truly amazing what wishes can do. A wish renews hope, uplifts spirits and encourages the belief in the impossible. 

Make-A-Wish grants thousands of unique wishes each year. A wish begins with hope. And hope begins with you.

• The best fishing trip ever
• Throw out the first pitch at the World Series
• Go on an aircraft carrier
• Meet the team the wins the Super Bowl
• Play golf with the #1 LPGA or PGA Tours’ pro
• Go to New York City with your family at Christmas

Are these – or something like them – the dreams, the wishes of someone you know? Are there items on the “bucket list” of a man or woman? Do you have a “bucket list”?

Everyone has a bucket list. I'm not sure if any of the items above or on someone’s list – except the last one. I know about New York City with your family at Christmas.

On March 11, 2003, my younger daughter, Rebecca, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at age 13. Eventually her struggle brought her to her bucket list…things she saw as offering hope and a respite from all that AML dumped on a young teenage girl.

"Make-A-Wish" of NC appears to be a large organization; instead, it is a small group of people whose love, care, commitment and dedication to the persons they serve answered the call to fulfill an item on Rebecca’s bucket list. The Broadway plays, FAO Schwartz, The American Girls Store, the Rockettes and the live nativity, Rockefeller Center, snow at night, and so much more created a time of fun, love, and memories that we, as a family, will always cherish.

MAW does more than grant wishes. They plant seeds of hope, laughter, and normalcy and create memories that last…and last. 

In honor of Make-A-Wish and their efforts to grant “bucket list” memories to children in North Carolina of all ages, I am hiking across NC on the NC Mountains to Sea Trail (NCMST). I hope to draw attention to Make-A-Wish’s herculean efforts on behalf of these children and raise the necessary monies that turn those efforts into wishes and laughter and hope for NC children. We can do this.

One child, one family, one wish from a bucket list…at a time.

The NC MST covers 1175 miles across our beautiful state. I will begin hiking on or about November 29, 2021 from Jockey’s Ridge. Rebecca would be 33 years old if she had lived. The average wish costs $9000. My goal is a little over $28000 or at least three wishes!! $75 dollar donations for each of the 237 miles I have left will get us there!!! ( we have a little over $10K so far.) 

Your help is needed. The bucket list is big because lots of North Carolina children have lots of wishes. You can make a donation here on the website or you can mail a check to:

                Make-A-Wish NC

                217 East Tremont Ave

                Charlotte, NC 28203

                (for Simpson Bucket List Hike)

Thank you for your help. Together, we can make bucket lists become realities.

Jeff