Make-A-Wish marking 40th anniversary with 20,000 wish
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Saturday marks World Wish Day and the Make-A-Wish Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana chapter is celebrating by granting its 20,000th wish to a little girl named Mya at a special fundraising event in Indiana.
The chapter's CEO said Mya’s wish is to ride on a unicorn.
“20,000 wishes is incredible and I look at it as not only 20,000 children, but 20,000 families, 20,000 communities, schools. All of these people are impacted because a lot of wishes are not just contained to one person,” said Carol Richardson, Senior Market Director of Advancement at Make-A-Wish OKI.
The fundraising gala is one of six being held throughout the region to also mark the chapters 40th anniversary. One will also be held at the Hilton Columbus at Easton on May 13. Richardson is not only a part of the Make-A-Wish team, but a Make-A-Wish parent.
“In 2011 my then 6-year-old daughter, Madeline, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and I think it’s a parent's very natural first reaction to say ‘No, no, I don’t want that,'" she said.
But, she said she overcame that hesitation and began to help others overcome it, too.
"It was really, really eye opening to see something -- a gift -- from an organization that’s empowering for the kids to be able to think and dream and anticipate something that they have complete control over,” said Richardson.
In 2012, her daughter Madeline received her wish -- a second trip to Disney World.
“I remember I rode the little globe at Epcot like 20 times because you can just go right back in... I wasn’t able to swim because I had a port that couldn’t get wet and I got it out like a week or two before we left and there was a swimming pool at the resort so I remember I got to go swimming with my sister and my parents and that was just such a magical experience to be able to go swimming with my family again,” said Madeline.
Madeline is now 19 and going into her sophomore year at OSU and said her wish has inspired many things in her life, like her major and even the sorority she chose.
“They just appreciate that part of me and I can talk about that openly and they’re actually very interested in that which is-it’s really cool,” said Richardson.
The Make-A-Wish OKI chapter's CEO said right now it is raising money to grant 283 wishes in central Ohio.