Make-A-Wish Northeast New York will hold its fifth annual Day of Wishes Telethon in support of its 30^th annual Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at Colonie Center.

The telethon will air on WRGB CBS6 Albany and B95.5 FM, an Albany Broadcasting Co. station. Channel 6 will have live cut-ins during its afternoon and early evening newscasts.

Viewers/listeners will be able to call 518-472-0688 to donate during the telethon's hours. People can also continue to donate online anytime at adoptawishneny.org, and at area mall booths and select businesses and schools.

“The Day of Wishes Telethon has become integral to the Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign, highlighting the power of a wish and raising funds essential to granting future wishes,” Make-A-Wish Northeast New York CEO William C. Trigg, III, said. “We are grateful to our media partners and all those who generously donate.”

The Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign, unique among the 58 local chapters within Make-A-Wish_® America, is critical to Make-A-Wish Northeast New York’s ability to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

The campaign throughout the 518 and 838 area codes features paper stars available for a suggested donation of $5 each. NYSCOPBA has generously renewed its role in the campaign as the Presenting Sponsor, and we are thankful for its support. In addition, Plug, BBL Construction Services and Teamsters Local 294 serve as Star Sponsors.

Stars are available online at adoptawishneny.org, at Crossgates Mall, Colonie Center, Wilton Mall, Aviation Mall, Champlain Centre in Plattsburgh, Wintertime Wonderland at Via Port Rotterdam and select businesses and schools throughout the region. The campaign runs at malls through Christmas Eve.

An important note: The chapter is still in need of volunteers to staff its booths at various malls. If you are interested in volunteering, visit adoptawishneny.org or contact Director of Development Jaymee Keller at jkeller@neny.wish.org or 518-456-9474.

Want to do well and do good this holiday shopping season? Then visit the Make-A-Wish Northeast New York Wish Store, where you can pick up some sweet Make-A-Wish swag. Just hit the link.

For the month of December, Make-A-Wish Northeast New York will receive $1 from every $2.50 reusable shopping bag sold at the Hannaford Supermarket at 5 Maple Road in Voorheesville. Thank you Hannaford and its shoppers!

I don’t know about you, but I found 2022 to be a particularly challenging year, and for a number of reasons I prefer NOT to delve into right now. Suffice it to say, I am glad to move on to 2023. It’s time for us to shake off the anxiety and the fatigue that the pandemic, the economy, politics and other societal forces have generated, and say “ENOUGH ALREADY!!” We are in the business of HOPE, and HOPE is what we will grow, foster and share among our wish families, our volunteers and our donors. By making the lives of our wish families better, we will make our own lives better, too! In the process, we will have lifted up a lot of sagging spirits.  

As I wrote to you nearly two years ago, HOPE IS ESSENTIAL for all of us. And what better way to foster and cultivate hope than by making the heartfelt wishes of our own wish kids come true! I have come to better appreciate and cherish just how important and necessary our mission of granting life-changing wishes to children and teens who are critically ill truly is.

We did not successfully grant 67 wishes in the past year, including Esmé's award-winning wish in which her beautiful stories were translated into a museum exhibit, by giving into anxiety and fatigue; nor did we give in as we commit ourselves to granting 85 more in the year ahead. Rather, we re-ignited our own personal passion for the mission, and pushed forward with renewed energy and resolve.

There is no denying it: Hope begins with us, and it is our duty to cultivate it among our wish families—whether we are Board members, staff members, volunteers or donors. Why? Because we have made a pledge as members of one or more of these constituent groups to ensure that the Make-A-Wish mission is fulfilled. It’s a pledge we make every day to our wish children and teens, no matter the circumstances, the challenges and the opportunities. We are all engaged in an honorable and vital endeavor to grant the wish of every eligible child so that they can truly become more and do more with their lives than anyone ever thought possible. In so doing, we lift our wish children and teens upon our shoulders and give them the joyous perspective of a life fully engaged. 

Let’s make sure we live with this mantle of hope throughout this beautiful holiday season … and then carry it forward with great joy throughout the new year ahead. It’s gonna be great!!

With immense gratitude,

Bill Trigg

CEO

Make-A-Wish Northeast New York