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| Make-a-Wish Foundation comes to county |
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| News | |||
| Written by Brandon Steinert | |||
| Friday, 05 March 2010 09:00 | |||
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Delaney Murphy made a wish, and it came true. After playing peek-a-boo with Pinocchio, she uttered the magic words: “Bippity boppity boo.” Moments later, Cinderella strolled into the room and spent nearly half an hour with the 5-year-old.  These were just some of the dozens of memories the Murphy family made while at Disney World — a trip granted by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The nonprofit organization grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions with a goal of enriching “the human experience with hope, strength and joy,” according to the group’s brochure. The emphasis for most of the children served by the foundation has been on joy. “It was an amazing and unbelievable trip,” Delaney’s mother, Kelley, said. “(Make-a-Wish) has given us memories our family will have for a lifetime. We never could have done it as well as they did it. They go above and beyond for the kids.” The program that made all of that possible has only one registered volunteer in Miami County, a fact many people in the area are trying to change. Kendra Gray, Make-a-Wish volunteer coordinator, said Miami County children have been having their wishes granted since 1980, although most of the volunteers serving the area have been from Johnson County. She is making a new push for more local participation. “We’ll take as many as we can get,” Gray said, adding that she had cancer as a child, although she was barely too old to fit the age range (21/2 to 18) to participate in Make-a-Wish. “It’s really hard for me to see people in that situation,” she said. Erin Lyon, currently the only volunteer in the county, has granted two wishes since she signed up to help in November. Her son was diagnosed with cancer at the young age of 3, and he had a wish granted years ago. He’s now almost 25 and healthy. “It’s my way to give back for what they did for us,” Lyon said of volunteering. “It’s very rewarding.” One of the two wishes she granted was for Osawatomie’s Gabriel Smith, who wished for a bedroom makeover. Smith died shortly after the wish was granted, but the organization served its purpose in helping to improve his life. Lyon made the experience a family operation by bringing in her son. “I think it brought home for him what I went through,” she said. “It’s a great program. I would love to have more wishes, but I would just as soon never have to grant another wish ever again.” Croix Walters’ wish also came true in September 2008, when the then-5-year-old and his entire family were awarded a trip to Disney World. During that visit, he could be seen reaching out to touch any number of characters from his favorite cartoons. Croix, who had leukemia, is now as healthy as can be. “ ‘Awesome’ pretty much sums it up,” Croix’s mother, Tamara, said of their trip. “They spared no details or expenses on making it the best it possibly could be. To try to repeat that vacation ... there’s no way we could do it without those kinds of connections.” To become a volunteer wish granter, contact Gray at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 1-888-977-9474.
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