Like a stone tossed in water, a wish doesn’t just make a splash. It ripples – sometimes for years on end, touching lives in unexpected ways.

Matthew Rosato was 8 when he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Around his 10th birthday, Make-A-Wish Northeast New York granted his wish to travel to the Great Wolf Lodge Water Park in Pennsylvania.

“As Matthew splashed in that water from morning ’til nightfall, with nothing but light in his eyes and a perpetual giggle, I watched in awe," dad Steve Rosato recalled.

That wish was more than a decade ago. But that wish touches the lives of other wish families, and one in particular, to this very day. Read more to learn why. 

There is no better feeling than seeing joy wash over a child as they learn they are receiving their wish.

But if you can turn your eyes away, you can see that joy impacting so many others, from family to friends and even caring strangers who have never met the child.

And if you stick around long enough, years even, you can see that wish still impacting more wish kids, more families, more lives.

At Make-A-Wish Northeast New York, we call that the Ripple Effect. And this issue of Wishmaking Monthly highlights two wishes — one recent, one more than a decade old — that perfectly capture how a single wish can positively affect so many lives.

Amelia’s wish for a camper certainly benefits her and her family: Together, they can create a lifetime of memories. But by soliciting additional donations for goods and services from community businesses and vendors, Diederich’s RV Mart turned the wish into something more.

So many people donated to, and became invested in, Amelia’s wish that a large swatch of Greene County was impacted by that camper, not just the family. In fact, the Facebook gallery after her wish reveal is the most popular social media post in the chapter’s history!

Then there’s Matthew’s wish, going on 12 years ago, to visit a Pennsylvania water park. That prompted his dad, Steve to get his company, Saratoga Olive Oil, involved in our Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign. That involvement moved one of the company’s vendors to reach out to the owners to thank them: His child, Isabella, is one of our ambassadors.

Both wish families were positively affected by their wishes. Both those wishes prompted the wish families to help impact others today.

That is the Ripple Effect. A wish is never just a wish, a wish child is never the sole beneficiary, and the joy created is never just a brief burst of happiness. You can see it. Just look at a wish child. Then look at everyone around them.

With immense gratitude,

Bill Trigg

CEO, Make-A-Wish Northeast New York