World Wish Month and WishMakers Wanted Campaign Kicks Off
Make-A-Wish® North Dakota highlights wish kids and invites more WishMakers to help wishes come true.
Fargo, ND – Make-A-Wish North Dakota joins its sister chapters across the globe in celebrating World Wish Month by highlighting wish kids across the state and encouraging caring individuals to become WishMakers.
“We are proud to celebrate 44 years of wish granting, reaching more than 500,000 kids with critical illnesses across the globe since 1980, and locally, 1,100 kids in North Dakota since 1985,” said Billi Jo Zielinski, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish North Dakota. “Raising awareness about wish kids’ stories and how people can make a difference in their lives is the best way we can continue reaching every eligible child to give them the power and strength that comes from a granted wish.”
The wishes that Make-A-Wish
North Dakota grants wouldn’t be possible without the support of countless “WishMakers” such as donors, volunteers, corporate partners, community advocates and more. “WishMakers” – a term for anyone who steps up to take action for wish kids – are everywhere, but more “WishMakers” are needed in order to achieve our lofty goal of reaching every eligible child.
WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes and the Impractical Jokers, who have helped grant wishes, and Make-A-Wish America President and CEO Leslie Motter formally launched “WishMakers Wanted,” a global campaign with the stated intent to recruit 1 million people worldwide to sign up as “WishMakers” between now and the end of World Wish Month (April). People can sign up to become a “WishMaker” at wishmaker.org.
Locally, Make-A-Wish North Dakota is excited to have several activities and efforts throughout the month to recognize wish children and families, as well as celebrate the magic of a wish come true.
We honor World Wish Month every April and World Wish Day on April 29 as that is the anniversary of the wish that inspired Make-A-Wish. Sevenyear-old Chris Greicius of Phoenix had leukemia and wished to be a police officer. Those that created his wish, including his mother, Linda Pauling, established Make-A-Wish because they knew there were other kids out there, like Chris, who needed a wish come true.
In 1985, caring, local volunteers Diane Weickert, Kevin Reitz, Jerry Novacek, and Arlene Nelson founded Make-A-Wish North Dakota for children in our state. Our mission is, “Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses,” and we exist solely to serve children ages 2 ½ to 18 years old who have been diagnosed with an illness that puts their life in jeopardy. Our vision is to reach every eligible child. Make-A-Wish invites these children to dream beyond the confines of their illness and wish their one true wish. Another seven-year-old boy named Christopher was our first wish child here in North Dakota. He wished for a VCR because he loved to watch movies. Christopher was undergoing cancer treatments in Fargo, and health problems confined him to his own room. The VCR allowed him to still be able to do what he loved. That hope is essential.
To learn more visit www.northdakota.wish.org.