I'm so honored that my blog
recently hit the 300 followers mark!
I'm celebrating with a
& a Random Act of Kindness
for my community to share my joy.
I got this idea from my thoughtful
blog friend, Jules at . . .
blog friend, Jules at . . .
who inspired me to use my blog to try to
make world a better place.
Today I visited my local chapter of the
Make-A-Wish Foundation
to make a contribution
in honor of all you wonderful readers.
-"Blaise", whose wish was to travel to Nashville to visit cousins & grandparents -
This amazing organization grants wishes to children with
life-threatening illnesses "to enrich the human experience with
hope, strength & joy."
There are 66 Make-A-Wish chapters in the U.S. with
even more all around the world.
In Utah, we are blessed to have a beautiful building
that houses Make-A-Wish.
This is the WISHING TOWER (more about that later) . . .
There are only two other Make-A-Wish facilities similar to this one
in the U.S.--one in Dallas & one in Sacramento
(with a third under construction in New Jersey).
Each wish child receives a real key
in this "castle box"
& brings the key with them when they make their wish.
The key opens this door to the Wishing Tower!
Cool!
Cool!
Children gave ideas about the design of this building.
"Shanna", age 9 said, "When they tell their wish
music plays & fireflies dance".
Which is pretty close to what happens in the
Wishing Tower.
Then the folks at Make-A-Wish do all in their power to
make that wish come true.
Once their wish is complete, the children are invited to
etch their names onto a star & it joins the others as it is
raised to the ceiling in a
beautiful constellation
which is a reminder of each wish child -
those who have passed on AND those who
continue on with their courageous battle against
a life-threatening illness.
- "Justin, age 10 suggested, "every child who makes a wish
leaves a gold star on the ceiling".
Visitors like me can have a wish token to keep
or to make a wish in the fountain . . .
Last time I visited, I made a VERY important wish
about one of my children,
tossed my token in the wishing pond,
about one of my children,
tossed my token in the wishing pond,
AND IT CAME TRUE! This time I kept my token.
As you can see, this is a wonderful organization!
I think "Daniel", age 15 said it best when he
suggested, "The wishing place should be
all joy & peace with nothing
whatsoever to do with the hospital".
I think "Daniel", age 15 said it best when he
suggested, "The wishing place should be
all joy & peace with nothing
whatsoever to do with the hospital".
If you want to know more (or join me in donating),
or
ALSO, if you live in the area, there will be a special
event at The Gateway in SLC on June 25th, 2011 &
a bike-riding event in St. George on October 22, 2011.
BTW, here's a breakdown of how donations are used . . .
Thank you, blog friends, for
giving me a reason to celebrate!
I shared this at The Girl Creative's Linky Party
Those wishing stars are beautiful symbols. I have great appreciation and love for the Make A Wish Foundation. They helped all my siblings and our families fly to Virginia to have an early Thanksgiving with my brother, Steven, before he passed away a few weeks later. It truly was a gift that words can not express sufficient gratitude for.
ReplyDeleteI do think this is a Wonderful organization. My brother lost a son when he was 7....and in Canada, they also had a Make A Wish foundation, and he got to go on his helicopter ride.
ReplyDeletedreams coming true
for such innocent, pure, happy people.
Dearest Michelle..I Wept While Reading This Post! This Organization Has Truly Just Stolen My Heart. What Precious And Glorious Gifts They Bring. That Tower And The Symbolism Behind The Stars Gathered In The Ceiling ~ Got Me. Can You Imagine God Looking Down Upon What Can Only Be Described As A Heavenly Gesture? Umm..I Can. I Pray It Delighted His Heart. Thank You So Much For Sharing All This With Us..I Now Have New Insight And Knowledge On This Wonderful Organization. I'm Feeling I Want To Do Something To Help Them..To Make More Wishes Come True. I'm Going To Research To See If We Have A Nearby Chapter. Hugs, Terri
ReplyDeleteHow oh how did I miss this gorgeous post??? I'm usually so good about checking in to see how you are doing!!! And what is this Fabulous Friday linky thing I see??? I've been a very bad bloggy friend. I can't believe how much I didn't know about Make a Wish. Thank you for sharing all of the beauty ... and congrats on all of your loyal and loving followers!!! You are making a difference!!! Jules
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THIS POST! How sweet of you to make a donation to Make-a-wish. I have worked with them many times on different occasions but I actually learned a few new things about this amazing organization! Thank you so much for sharing. My blog is all about service and I would LOVE to spotlight this post on my blog if you are interested! You are so AMAZING and charitable!
ReplyDelete