Childhood Wish Becomes Adult Reality

Childhood Wish Becomes Adult Reality
Alex’s wish lead him college, career
Five years ago, Alex became the
CEO of General Motors, the world’s
largest vehicle manufacturer, at the
young age of 16. The Make-A-Wish
Foundation and UAW-GM granted
the teen’s heartfelt wish to be “CEO
for a day” just after doctors declared
him in remission from osteosarcoma,
a type of bone cancer. And this was
only the beginning of Alex’s inspiring story.
Alex’s wish took him to both New
York City and Detroit. On Wall Street,
he joined Gary Cowger, president
of General Motors North America,
for the ceremonial opening of the
stock market. The teen’s effect on his
new colleague was evident as Gary
introduced Alex at a press conference as his “new boss,” exclaiming,
“I like people who think big. So I’ve
got to tell you, I really like this guy!”
In Detroit, he reported to work at
the GM World Headquarters. He
also toured Kettering University, the
former General Motors Institute.
Alex was incredulous when reflecting on his wish. “Of all the wishes I
thought about, I never believed this
one could really happen. But it really came true! Not only was it the
thrill of my life, but it’s going to help
me in planning my future.”
Alex wasn’t kidding. Five years later,
Alex, now 21, is a student at Kettering
University, the very school he visited
on his wish.
“I kept in touch with the university
staff after my wish,” Alex said, “and
they encouraged me to keep my
grades up in high school and then
take certain community college
classes until I was well enough to
move to Michigan and become a
student there.”
And that’s not all. In addition to his
studies, Alex now works for engineering giant General Electric. And
– most importantly - Alex is about to
enter his fifth year in remission.
“My wish gave me a lot of confidence and helped me plan for the
future that I’m living out today,” Alex
said. “I hope to get a master’s degree in bio engineering someday,
and ultimately work toward curing
the diseases that kept me – and so
many kids like me – in the hospital.”
And Alex says this is only the beginning of his story. “We can write another update five years from now.”
The UAW-GM Center for Human
Resources has been a Make-A-Wish
corporate sponsor since 1999. The
fundraising and volunteer support
of UAW workers, General Motors
employees, and dealerships have
been making smiles standard equipment ® for thousands of wish kids like
Alex ever since.
Look for Alex’s
Wish Featured in the
Make-A-Wish
2009 Calendar!
Wishes Need You!
Make-A-Wish Foundation of America
Communications Dept.
3550 N. Central Ave., Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85012-2127
Phone: (800) 722-9474
Fax: (602) 279-0855
comm@wish.org
© Copyright 2008 Make-A-Wish Foundation
of America. All rights reserved. Make-A-Wish
Foundation, Make-A-Wish, Wishmaker and
other designated trademarks are property of
the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
Issue 2, June 2008, a semi-annual publication
Editor: Brent Goodrich
Associate Editors: Kathryn Roethel, Justin Schmid
Designers: Molly Bennett, Jasen Pantoja
Reproduction without written permission of the
Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America is prohibited.
Visit the Ways to
Help Web Page
We all have the power to
grant a wish. And thanks to
the Ways to Help Web page
powered by Disney ®, it’s never
been easier to share your time,
talents and treasures to make
wishes come true!
Visit www.wish.org/help to
learn the many ways you can
share the power of a wish ®.
5
27,000 kids are eligible for wishes each y
Detroit Pistons Team Up,
Raise $500,000 for Wish Kids
A Special Thank You to Our:
Mission Champions - $5 million+ Annually
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan found some very big friends
in the Detroit Pistons this spring, as the NBA team rallied players, fans, staff
and corporate partners to raise $500,000 for wishes. The Pistons franchise
wanted to celebrate its 50th season by raising funds to grant 50 wishes in
Michigan, a state where the economy is struggling and charitable giving
is down. They surpassed their goal, hosting a 17-hour telethon event that
raised enough to grant more than 60 wishes to seriously ill children!
®
©
Wish Champions - $1.5 million+ Annually
Ellen Viewers
Step it Up for Wishes
The Ellen DeGeneres Show stepped up to
help grant wishes in April. The show’s talent coordinator, Megan Cooper, ran the
Country Music Marathon in Nashville and
wanted to turn the race into a chance to
raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She set a $10,000 goal, and
DeGeneres asked viewers to donate at www.wish.org in her name; viewers and corporate sponsors pushed the total to more than $36,000!
You Made These Wishes Happen
Thanks to generous help from supporters like you, we’ve been delighting wish kids, their families and sometimes even their
entire communities. Visit Wish.org and look for these amazing stories about the most recent wishes you’ve helped grant.
I wish to have a playhouse
with flowerboxes
Taylor, 5
I wish to meet
Elvis in Hawaii
Travis, 4
I wish to visit the
set of “The Office”.
Anna, 16
I wish to ride
a horse
Markell, 7
6
I wish to create a
cancer healing-themed
board game
Carsten, 9
Visit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® Web site at www.wish.org
3550 North Central Avenue, Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85012-2127
Make-A-Wish Foundation®
Phoenix, AZ
Permit No. 2817
PAID
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
Make-A-Wish
2009 Calendar!
Spring/Summer Edition, 2008, Vol. XVIII; Issue II
Look for Alex’s
Wish Featured in the
Make-A-Wish
2009 Calendar!
In This Issue...
Donate dollars and frequent flier miles
to make wishes come true.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Destination Joy® presented by LAY’S®
campaign is back for a second year with a simple, urgent goal: Raise
the resources to make every wish happen.
More Ways To Help
Learn about Destination Joy
deals...........................p. 2
Summer of Sports Wishes
In 2007, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted 13,000 wishes – a wish
every 40 minutes. But that’s only half of the 27,000 children who are
diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions each year in
the United States. With your help, we can raise the resources so that
every eligible child’s wish
canfor
come
true.
Look
Alex’s
ESPN and FOX Sports showcase
winning wishes......................p. 3
Wish Leads to Career
Wish Featured in the
Alex’s 2003 wish leads him to
27,000
Volunteer time, donor dollars
and gifts of frequent flier miles
and kids are eligible for wishes each
Make-A-Wish
other goods and services
go into
each wish we grant. We need more
Helpcollege,
grantjob...........................p.
their wishes5 today!
2009
Calendar!
than 25,000 volunteers nationwide to power our mission, and the
average cost of a wish is $7,000. We also need 2.2 billion frequent flier
miles to send our wish kids to their dream destinations; currently, we
only raise 350 million.
Detroit
Pistonsyear.
27,000 kids are eligible for wishes
each
Support Wishes
Help grant their wishes NBA
today!
stars raise $500,000 for
You can join Make-A-Wish® volunteers, friends and supporters
around the country in the Destination Joy presented by LAY’S
campaign. NASCAR® driver Jimmie Johnson, professional golfer
Annika Sorenstam, real estate tycoon Donald Trump and
musician Omarion are just a few of the famous face
who have come together to help make every wish happen.
The generous support of LAY’S brand potato chips is making
this campaign possible.
wish kids.......................p. 6
Did you know you
can make donations online?
Visit www.wish.org
Did you know you
can make donations online?
27,000 kids are eligible for wishes each year.
Visit
Help grant their
wisheswww.wish.org
today!
We all have the power to grant a wish. Turn the page to find
out more ways you can get onboard with the Destination Joy
presented by LAY’S campaign.
Did you know you
can make donations online?
Jimmie Johnson, Annika Sorenstam, and Omarion are teaming up
Visit
www.wish.org
with the Destination
Joy campaign
to make every wish happen.
Otis Spunkmeyer Chips In
as Destination Joy® Sponsor
Otis Spunkmeyer® will help celebrate the second year of the Destination Joy campaign with
the limited-edition Wish Cookie and a minimum donation of $75,000. The Wish Cookie will be
available nationwide at retail and dining locations, and $1 from the sale of each case will benefit
the Foundation. The company also offered chapters free Otis Spunkmeyer ovens and four cases
of Sweet DiscoveryTM cookie dough for use at local events.
Bagel Promotion To Raise
Dough for Wishes
Visit participating Einstein Bros. Bagels and Noah’s Bagels locations for a special bagel promotion June 6-8, and you
can ring up a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the same time. The bakeries will offer any regular Famous
Bagel and Shmear for 99 cents (regular price $2.49) and encourage customers to contribute the difference between
the regular price and sale price to support the Foundation.
The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, the nation’s largest operator of bagel bakeries, has pledged to to provide
$500,000 in cash and services annually to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Foundation Revs Up
Midas Promotion
Midas will hold a national promotion to raise funds for the Foundation at participating U.S. locations. The company
will donate $5 for each Midas TouchTM Maintenance Package sold through June 28, with a guaranteed minimum
Red: PMS 199
Yellow: PMSis
109also urging dealers to contact their local
contribution of $350,000 and a maximum contribution of $400,000. Midas
®
Make-A-Wish chapters to see how they can get involved in their local communities.
Also, each Midas location will give away paper and magnetic Wish Stars with every purchase of the Midas Touch
Maintenance Package to display in stores and on customers’ cars. Learn more at www.midaswish.com.
The Destination Joy® Campaign:
Coming to a City Near You!
Destination Joy presented by LAY’S events are taking place in cities around the United
States this summer, including special celebrations in June in five major cities: Chicago,
Dallas, Las Vegas, Nashville and New York. Learn more at www.wish.org.
2
Wish Kid Hits the
Links with Annika
Leave A Legacy
of Wishes
Wishes create memories that last a
lifetime – and you have the power to
make wishes come true well into the
future. By designating the Make-A-Wish
Foundation as a beneficiary of your
estate, you will leave a legacy that
provides hope, strength and joy to the
courageous children we serve.
Fourteen-year-old
Molly,
who
was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, is an avid golfer whose
wish was to meet and play golf with
Annika Sorenstam. Molly and her
family spent the day with Annika
at the ANNIKA Academy at Ginn
Reunion Resort near Orlando, Fla.
“What an honor it is that of all the
things Molly could have chosen to
do, she wanted to come here to
meet me,” said Annika. “We share
the same passion for golf and I can
only hope that her being here today
was inspiring to her. I know she has
been inspiring to me.”
Competing for the Grosse Ile High
girls’ golf team in the fall, Molly
earned all-league first-team honors
as a freshman.
“It’s a great experience being here
with Annika and I am very excited
to play golf with her today,” Molly
said. “I really like the Cutter & Buck
outfit, the Callaway golf clubs, and
the gift basket from Kraft that Annika
gave to me. I am very happy that
she is taking all of this time with me
today. I am having a lot of fun!”
Your generous commitment can help
grant seriously ill children’s heartfelt
wishes well into the future by providing
the necessary resources. By naming the
Make-A-Wish Foundation as a beneficiary
in your estate planning, you can assure
that no child’s wish will go unfulfilled.
Please visit www.wish.org/plannedgiving
to learn more about planned giving
opportunities, or contact Teresa Davis
Pusztai at (800) 722-WISH (9474) or
tpusztai@wish.org.
The day’s activities included a tour
of the ANNIKA Academy, lunch,
one-on-one instructions from Annika
and nine holes of golf on The Legacy
Course at Reunion.
You could still be
helping grant
wishes 100 years
from now!
And before her wish came to a
close, Annika invited her new friend
to serve as a guest writer on her
blog, www.annikablog.com.
Macy’s and its Customers Generate
$6 Million to Grant Wishes
Generosity was in the air at Macy’s last holiday season as the 2007 Thanks For Sharing holiday gifts rewards program
raised a record of more than $6 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.
Thanks for Sharing debuted as a Macy’s initiative in 2003 – a distinctive effort benefiting customers during the holiday
season and charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, throughout the year. For a $25 enrollment fee, Macy’s
cardholders earn a 10-percent reward on most Macy’s and macys.
com purchases made with their Macy’s credit card during the
holiday season. Since 2003, Macy’s has contributed $14.9 million to
the Make-A-Wish Foundation through Thanks for Sharing.
Look for Thanks For Sharing at a Macy’s near you
beginning September 2008.
3
Newest ESPN “My Wish” Stories
Premiere in June
For the third straight year, ESPN’s critically acclaimed SportsCenter’s “My Wish” series, which
chronicles sports-themed wishes granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to children with lifethreatening medical conditions, will air June 29-July 3.
The series is presented by ESPN, in cooperation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Disney.
The series will profile five children and their wishes to meet their sports heroes.
Emmy Award-winning reporter Chris Connelly again will host the series, which includes the
story behind the child’s wish and an up-close look at the wish fulfilled. ESPN.com will offer
additional “My Wish” content online.
“The feedback from this series has been overwhelmingly positive and each year,
we find out there are more compelling stories that need to be told,” said Stephanie
Druley, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “Beyond capturing the bond athletes
share with their fans, ‘My Wish’ has become a unique prism for sports fans to better
understand the impact granting a wish can have on a young person facing severe life
challenges.”
FOX Sports Supporting Wishes
with Campaign
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is participating in the newly created FOX Sports Supports, an on-air charitable initiative
created by FOX Sports devoted to raising awareness, providing financial assistance and spurring volunteerism for select
health-related charities. FOX Sports employees chose the Foundation as one of the four benefiting charities. The MakeA-Wish campaign runs through the entire Major League Baseball season on FOX, including the All-Star Game, National
League Championship Series and World Series. FOX Sports is backing the FOX Sports Supports initiative with in-game
and/or pregame mentions, plus a public service announcement featuring wish kids Codey and Daniel and FOX Sports
personalities Jeanne Zelasko, Eric Karros and Kevin Kennedy.
NASCAR® Champ Jeff Gordon
Honored for 200 Wishes
Popular NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon has provided hope, strength and joy
to plenty of wish kids during his 13-year career, more than 200 to be exact.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation honored Gordon, who granted his 200th wish in April, for the tremendous milestone and
his steadfast commitment to wish granting. With the help of 15-year-old Joshua, who was on his wish to meet Gordon,
the Foundation presented an original glass artwork created by artist Chris Channell.
“What the Make-A-Wish Foundation does is absolutely amazing,” Gordon said during the presentation in Phoenix. “It
certainly makes me proud to contribute in some way. When I meet these kids and see them smile, it gives me more
energy than you can ever imagine.”
Joshua met Gordon, attended the drivers’ meeting with him and was even interviewed live on the FOX Sports national
broadcast as he and Gordon circled the track during pre-race introductions.
“I just want to say that it’s so cool to meet Jeff Gordon,” Joshua said, smiling. “He’s my number-one race car driver.”
4