Wishmaking Monthly

Save the Date:

Hope Begins With Us Gala March 25

Make-A-Wish Northeast New York will hold its Hope Begins With Us Gala at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs.

There will be fine dining, drink and dancing, with music by Funk Evolution, live and silent auctions with premier auctioneer Tom Stebbins, and, of course, powerful wish stories.

Look for more information coming soon. You will soon be able to purchase tickets, and later view silent auction items, on the gala site wishgalaneny.org.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS: We are looking for art, particularly from wish kids and alums, for our Gala.

Oil, pastel, crayon, sculpture, woodwork … it doesn’t matter. What is important is these items will be auctioned off to help grant life-changing wishes for children battling critical illnesses.

If you can contribute, contact Director of Development Jaymee Keller at jkeller@neny.wish.org, or drop off your piece(s) at our office at 3 Washington Square, Albany, NY, 12205 right up until Gala week.

Get started today: Your creations can help create wishes!

Jackson Leads the Ducks

Just before Make-A-Wish Northeast New York wish kid Jackson, clad in a complete Anaheim Ducks uniform, hit the Honda Center ice in front of more than 15,000 screaming fans prior to the Ducks-Vegas Golden Knights game, he glanced back in the players’ tunnel.

“That was the best part of the wish,” said the 12-year-old from Rouses Point near the Canadian border. “When I looked back, they were all behind me.”

Of course they were. The Ducks had Jackson’s back his whole memorable wish.

Jackson’s wish was to meet his favorite NHL hockey team, the Ducks. (The affinity comes from the movie, “The Mighty Ducks.”)

That’s not quite what happened.

Oh, he did meet his heroes on a recent trip to California. But there was more - so much more. ...

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Community Answers Call for Kevin

It took the combined efforts of an entire community to make Kevin's Make-A-Wish Northeast New York wish a reality, and the Town of Colonie came through!

Kevin wished to be a vehicle dispatcher, and over an amazing week he served as a dispatcher for the Colonie Police Department -- taking the time to assist the Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department on a car fire -- and for the North Colonie Central School District. His week was capped with music and a celebration of his service at Shaker High School, which the 17-year-old attends.

Special thanks to: the police department and Chief Michael Woods and Lt. Todd Weiss; the fire department; the school district, its transportation department and all its staff; Town of Colonie Supervisor Peter Crummey, who presented Kevin with a citizen's award for his service, and everyone else involved for making Kevin's wish so magical and important.

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Cubby's Surprise Trip to

His Wish

Cubby's family knew they were heading off on the nearly 3-year-old's wish to Universal Studios. What they didn't know was there was so much more than a limo ride to start the trip.

Not only was Cubby and his family surprised with a parade at his home, a cavalcade featuring police, military and fire fighters, but the New York Army National Guard presented the wish child and his brother John with uniforms, and swore them both into service!

Then on the way to the airport, the family's limo swung by their Crossroads Community Church, where the entire congregation lined the street to give them an even more joyous wish celebration!

Thank You For Helping to Adopt Wishes

Our recently concluded Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign in malls, business and schools raised more than $125,000 for wishes, including more than $30,000 in our Day of Wishes Telethon! Thank you to all who contributed or volunteered!

The Wish Journey Begins With a Referral

Claralynn's wish journey that will lead her to meet princesses at Walt Disney World® Resort began not with booking airline tickets, but with a referral.

Do you know of a child who may be eligible for a wish? Then visit wish.org/refer-a-child, or contact acting Manager of Medical Referral Outreach Raina von Zerneck at rvzerneck@neny.wish.org or 518-456-9474.

Change Lives:

Be a Wish Granter

Make-A-Wish Northeast New York is looking for our next new wish granters -- the front-line volunteers who work directly with wish families to determine a child or teen's heartfelt wish.

There is an especially acute need for wish granters in Saratoga, Schoharie, Columbia and Greene counties.

If interested in this vital and immensely rewarding volunteer position, please contact Manager of Volunteer Engagement Jessica Liburdi a jliburdi@neny.wish.org or 518-456-9474.

Wishes Ripple Throughout Entire Communities

The recent wishes of Kevin and Michael, who goes by Cubby, that are detailed above bring home an inescapable truth about the power of a wish.

A wish impacts a child or teen and their family in ways large and small. The hope, the strength, the oh-so evident joy and confidence a Make-A-Wish provides is displayed time and time again in every wish the chapter has the privilege to grant.

But that impact, that power, ripples beyond the families. It extends into entire communities. And there are no better examples of that than the wishes of Kevin and Cubby.

For Kevin, we watched the Town of Colonie come together as one, as police, fire fighters, bus drivers and dispatchers, educators and community members all joined forces to make his wish to be a vehicle dispatcher a reality.

For Cubby, police, fire fighters, Army National Guard, volunteers and especially the family's Crossroads Community Church congregation made the child's trip to Walt Disney World® Resort a transformative moment.

The involvement of the community in these wishes means the world to families in the midst of a medical crisis, showing they are not alone in their struggles. Likewise, each member of the community who becomes involved in a wish also is able to draw from its power, knowing they can and have made a difference in the lives of a child and their family.

A wish is for children between 21/2 and 18 years of age. But really, a wish is for all of us.

With immense gratitude,

Bill Trigg

CEO

Make-A-Wish Northeast New York