A Wish for Hope

For our Random Acts of Service Challenge Mischief has chosen the Make A Wish Foundation. It took a lot of research to find a just right charity for him but as soon as he heard about sick kids having the chance to go on adventures, trips and meet celebrities he was on board. Here's the why and the how in his own words ...

Make a Wish is this thing where really sick kids get to leave the hospital and do stuff like regular kids. They can like go to the beach or to Disney or something and forget they are sick for a little while. Sometimes this helps them to get better but if it doesn't then their family has lots of good memories of them, y'know ... after.

Even if they don't get to get better I think they probably feel happier thinking about their wish coming true when they have to go back to the hospital. I like that kids can wish for anything and really nice people try to make those wishes come true. I would like to make a wish but since I'm not sick or anything I'll have to just ask my parents or wait til I'm a grown up.

(Shrugs) Anyway, I am going to make some stuff like cool necklaces or maybe paint some pictures and then I'll sell them. I might even sell some of my own toys too ... maybe. I hope that I can make enough money so that some cool kid can do something really awesome.

Since Make-A-Wish Foundation Canada was started in 1983 more than 4,000 wishes have been granted. Kids from all over Canada have had the opportunity to leave behind the constraints and the gravity of their medical situations for a short time and just be kids. The benefit of having a wish granted goes beyond the actual experience and straight to the heart and the hope of a child.

Experiencing a dream come true, like going to Disney World or swimming with dolphins, can strengthen a child's hope and help them to believe in the impossible. Often times they return from these trips stronger and more optimistic for their recovery and even in the darkest times of their illness they can remember that sometimes wishes do come true, and so they keep fighting.

It is Mischief's wish to make another kid smile, to help a family feel better even when their child is sick and to let them know that all kinds of wishes really do come true.

For more information on how you can help make wishes come true follow this link to the Make-A-Wish Foundation Website.

Once you choose hope, anything's possible. ~Christopher Reeve