UPDATE: Let's go for two! We met goal and funded a wish just before Thanksgiving, so now we're going for two. Our new goal is $10,021. We appreciate your support!
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Join us Wednesday, December 18 from 5-9 p.m. at Room 33 in Erie, Pa. for Conor's Annual Guest Bartending Event for Make-A-Wish.
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Conor was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, in 2011. While the disease is not curable, Crohn’s is treatable and we're blessed that Conor receives excellent care from physicians in Erie and Pittsburgh and now on campus at Saint Bonaventure. Thankfully, Conor is responding well to his most recent treatments and we are grateful for the compassionate care of his gastroenterologist, Dr. Dale King.
In spring 2015, Conor’s former gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh recommended him for a "wish" from Make-A-Wish® Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Since then, our family has learned much about the Make-A-Wish® organization. Initially, we thought they provided wishes to kids only with "terminal" illnesses, but we've since learned that wishes are for kids like Conor with critical illnesses. Their mission is to create life-changing wishes for kids with critical illnesses and we've seen first-hand how powerful (and life-changing) a wish can be.
In April 2016, Conor received his wish. He spent an afternoon hanging out with his favorite late-night talk show host in New York City. Conor’s wish to meet a huge celebrity and television personality has had such a positive impact on his health and his life that he wants to pay that feeling forward and give another deserving girl or boy a wish of their own so they, too, can know the happiness, relief, and renewal that a wish can bring.
In 2013, shortly before turning 10, Conor decided to turn his annual birthday parties into "pay-it-forward" events. That year, Conor raised more than $535 for the Barber National Institute and donated 150 handmade ornaments – made by guests at his birthday party – to Golden Living Center. The following year, Conor collected and donated 1,100 brand-new comic books for children undergoing treatment at Saint Vincent Health Center and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Since 2015, Conor, with help from his family and friends, has raised more than $64,000 for Make-A-Wish to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses like him.
For his efforts, Conor has also earned recognition for his philanthropic birthday projects with WJET-TV naming him a "Good Kid" in 2014 and Kohl's Department Stores selecting Conor as a local winner in the 2015 Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program. In 2016, Conor was honored as the Association of Fundraising Professionals Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter Outstanding Young Philanthropist.
Now a junior at Saint Bonaventure University, Conor wants to continue to raise money to grant a wish again this year. For his 2024 Wish Your Way Campaign, Conor is asking you to join him to raise at least $10,021 to fund two wishes for his 21st birthday!
Please click on the "Donate Now" button above to support Conor’s campaign to help Make-A-Wish® Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia give a child a wish this holiday.
If you wish to donate via check, please mail your donation to:
Make-A-Wish, Erie Regional Office
717 Indiana Drive
Erie, PA 16505
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season!
- Alyson, Matthew & Conor
