Make-A-Wish Bay Area reaches major milestone
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — This month, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area is turning 40 years old.
Four decades of more than 9,000 wishes, KRON4 takes a look back at what that organization has meant for the kids.
There are five wish opportunities for kids who qualify. “I wish to have, I wish to be, I wish to go to, I wish to meet, or I wish to give. It tugs at the heartstrings every time you see a wish come true.”
Nine thousand six hundred (9,600) wishes have been granted through Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area — dating back to the first wish for a little boy in Union City in 1984.
There may be thousands since, but CEO Betsy Biern says each one is an opportunity to provide a support system for a kid who needs it most.
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“You see a marathon and you see those people on the sides of the roads, cheering people on, or handing them Gatorades, wrapping them in those blankets at the end of the race. That’s make a wish,” Biern said.
A cheering squad that Amy Vaughn of Vacaville needed six years ago when she was battling Burkitts Lymphoma — a cancer that came with monthly blood work, doctor’s visits and worst of all: chemo.
“Chemo is really painful, it’s really unpleasant, it hurts,” Vaughn said.
She was just 12 years old and a social worker at the hospital decided to send in an application to Make-A-Wish. Vaughn qualified and wished to go to Paris, France—a place where her, her brother, mom and dad were able to get away from the pain of cancer.
“It was a celebration of my entire family coming together and being whole again,” she said.
Vaughn is 18 years old now, cancer-free and a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but she still thinks about the Make-A-Wish volunteers that made it possible for her to see the Eifel Tower.
“Brought a sense of life back into a time where I had to be an adult, I had to focus on adult-size problems instead of just being a kid,” Vaughn said.
From Paris to Disney World, Make-A-Wish grants around 350 wishes a year in Northern California.
Some had their own viral moment like ten years ago when 5-year-old Miles Scott saved the day as BatKid in San Francisco.
Make-A-Wish has the ability to help a kid, family, volunteer and entire communities.
“We hope it’s the kind of process that is so life-changing that it is giving you hope as you’re going through whatever treatment that is and you’re also meeting a community that may not know you from Adam,” Biern said.
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“It’s one of my favorite memories of my entire life, and I’m forever grateful for everything Make-A-Wish did for me,” Vaughn said.
More than 800 volunteers dedicate their time to granting wishes in the greater Bay Area and the organization is always looking for more. Click here if you’d like to volunteer.
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