Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia

2nd Annual Over The Edge

virginia-admin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:05:40 +0000

Walk for Wishes

virginia-admin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:02:09 +0000

Come and join us as we Walk for Wishes to raise funds to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions in the Central Virginia Area. The event will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2013, at 9:00am to Noon. Please click here to register!

Tyler

virginia-admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:05:59 +0000

When volunteers from Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia met 14-year-old Tyler, they met a true outdoor sportsman. Naturally, when asked about his wish it involved the great outdoors… Tyler wished to go deep sea fishing in the Florida Keys!

In early April 2012, Tyler, along with mom, dad and sister headed for the Sunshine State, and arrived in the Florida Keys for Tyler’s wish.

Tyler and dad met with Captain Larry and his First Mate, Forrest, to explore the great deep blue- and catch some fish. During their expedition, that was meant to last 4 hours and turned into 8- they saw action!

Tyler was able to fish and reel in Black Fin Tuna and Amberjack, but the real reeling came when they hooked a shark that took over 3 hours to fight!

It is through the partnership and generosity of the We Promise Foundation and Chartway Federal Credit Union that Tyler’s wish to go to deep sea fishing in the Florida Keys came true.
Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia would like to thank the We Promise Foundation for their continued collaboration in granting wishes to children in Virginia.

Lauren

virginia-admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:53:37 +0000

When volunteers from Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia met 4-year-old Lauren, they learned she is a champion at cartwheels and loves to play Pick Up Stix. They also discovered Lauren’s favorite color is a very particular blue- a shade very similar to Cinderella’s sparkling blue gown.

With this information about the ever-smiling Lauren, volunteers soon discovered her one true wish… she wished to go to Walt Disney World! Many children wish to visit the Magic Kingdom, but for Lauren the trip gave her the opportunity to meet her favorite Disney Princess, Cinderella, and visit the castle where Cinderella now lives.

Lauren’s wish came true in February when she spent seven days in Orlando, Florida in a Give Kids The World® villa with her family. At Walt Disney World® she got to visit Cinderella’s Castle and met not just Cinderella, but many of the other Disney Princesses. Carousel rides and butterfly face painting were just a few of the memorable moments captured on Lauren’s wish.

Lauren’s mother, Beth, said that “Give Kids The World was truly UNBELIEVABLE, absolutely wonderful. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios went above and beyond in their treatment to Lauren and the family… Lauren felt like a princess!”

It is through the partnership and generosity of the We Promise Foundation and Chartway Federal Credit Union that Lauren’s wish to go to Walt Disney World® and meet Cinderella came true. Make-A-Wish® Greater Virginia would like to thank the We Promise Foundation for their continued collaboration in granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions in Virginia.

Macy’s National Believe Day

virginia-admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:16:06 +0000

The 2011 Macy’s Believe campaign once again includes National Believe Day on December 9. The purpose of National Believe Day is

to celebrate the spirit of generosity and goodwill while spreading the holiday season’s message of

joy and kindheartedness toward all.

The Macy’s Believe campaign will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation again this year! Starting November 6th through December 24th, Macy’s will be collecting letters to Santa at all locations across the United States. For each letter collected, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, in years past this number has reached well over a million!

Anyone can write a letter to Santa, so break out the pen and paper and create that wish list for this years Christmas!

Should you be interested in getting you school group or other organization involved in this project, please email info@va.wish.org.

For more information concerning the Believe campign, please click here.

For a Macy’s location near you, please click here.

Macy’s Believe Campaign Kickoff… write your letters to Santa!

virginia-admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:45:11 +0000

Anyone can write a letter to Santa, so break out the pen and paper and create that wish list for this years Christmas!

Should you be interested in getting you school group or other organization involved in this project, please email info@va.wish.org.

For more information concerning the Believe campign, please click here.

For a Macy’s location near you, please click here.

We Promise Foundation

virginia-admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:43:21 +0000

We Promise Foundation and Chartway Federal Credit Union have continued the partnership with Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia with a grant for $150,000 to grant wishes in 2012. We Promise Foundation works closely with Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia to raise awareness for our mission and have granted more than 20 wishes annually. It is through the partnership and generosity of the We Promise Foundation/ Chartway Federal Credit Union that Aundrea’s wish to go on a shopping spree to buy a laptop was granted. Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia would like to thank the We Promise Foundation for their continued partnership in granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Make-A-Wish “Twelve Hours of Christmas” Radiothon

virginia-admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:50:37 +0000

Tune in to Cox Media stations 103.7 The River and Hot 100.9 to benefit Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia! We will be live on the radio on December 12th to raise funds to grant the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions. Call in or join us for our “Twelve Hours of Christmas” Radiothon and help spread the holiday cheer!

WISH GRANTED

virginia-admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:34:48 +0000

By Daniel Jones
Village News
www.villagenewsonline.com

One glance at her room and it’s no secret that Faith Miller is crazy about “Wicked,” the musical. Sitting in front of autographed pictures and the posters of green-faced witches on her walls is a suitcase -a prop- used in the actual Broadway show a few weeks ago.

It was actually the same suitcase Faith, 17, used in her first Broadway performance; like the pictures, it is signed by several performers of “Wicked.”

A resident of Chester and a rising sophomore at Thomas Dale High School, Faith was granted the wish of a lifetime not even a month ago.

“I have Cystic Fibrosis so pretty much ever since I was diagnosed in fourth grade my doctor’s talked about the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Faith said. “And so I never really knew what I wanted to do, and Mom made me wait - thank goodness. Then after an interview with the director of Make-A-Wish I told them I liked singing and acting and that I liked ‘Wicked.’ So that’s how I came to be an extra in the show.”

According to the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation website, the inherited chronic disease affects a person’s lungs and digestive system, causing the body to produce “unusually thick, sticky mucus that: clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.”

The disease affects 30,000 Americans (70,000 people worldwide), and each year 1,000 new cases are diagnoses of CF. Also, according to the Foundation’s website, the predicted average age of survival for a person with CF is in their mid-30’s.

These numbers don’t seem to bother Faith much- if at all: “I just try to keep it in perspective,” she said, “something good always happens.”

The Miller family received a call in late April from the Foundation, whose mission is enriching the lives of young people with life-threatening medical conditions through the wish-granting network; after performing in numerous school plays in recent years, Faith’s wish to be a Broadway star would be granted.

After being picked up from home in a limousine, Faith, her little brother and her parents were taken to the Richmond International Airport on Wednesday, July 13. Hours later they arrived in New York City where a limo waited for them once again. The entirety of their expenses was paid for by the Foundation.

Before long, Faith found herself participating in dress rehearsals in preparation for the show and spending time backstage with some of the world’s best performers. For Faith’s family the best part of the trip was the authentic kindness the cast and crew showered on their daughter.

“A crew member told me that this is their job, they do this day in and day out for years sometimes,” said her mother, Carol Miller, “so to have something like this just breaks up the monotony.”

Faith was in a total of six “Wicked” scenes, wore two different costumes, two wigs and even a microphone, absorbing about 20 minutes of total stage time the night of her Broadway premiere. At the show’s conclusion, Faith bowed between the two leading actresses.

“The whole cast was just looking at her and I cried,” said Miller. “She was a full-fledged actress that day and she just fit in so well.” Despite her being a natural fan of her daughter’s talents, Miller said Faith’s performance was splendid.

Faith was then approached by loads of cheering fans requesting her autograph and a picture taken with her.

“It was an amazing experience to see, first of all, how other people treated her with such respect and such love,” said her father, Gary. “So that in itself was amazing, but then to be able to participate was just a fantastic memory for her.”

In the fall, Faith will train with the Christian Youth Theatre and then will audition for ‘Beauty and the Beast” in the spring. In the mean time she will be working to complete her novel on teenage romance and vampires.

***
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Greater Virginia grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Due to the generosity of a donation from Jeweler’s For Children, Faith Miller’s wish was granted.

Dugout Party

virginia-admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:56:42 +0000

Shoot some pool for a cause! The Dugout Restaurant in Richmond will be hosting a pool tournament party to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Greater Virginia. The party will have live music , a billiards tournament, silent auction and a door prize drawing. The party will be inside and outside of the restaurant, so come and join the fun!

There will be no admission donation to enter the restaurant!