Mailbag
Read some of the heartwarming letters we have received from wish kids and their families.
Dear Make A Wish,
I am writing to say THANK YOU to everyone and to our wonderful sponsor!!! But those words aren’t enough to explain the gratitude we have for your organization. You gave our family the most exciting week of our lives. We are so grateful for the experience that was given to us. My son chose to go to Disney for his wish, given that he is 3 and 1/2 there was not another thought in his mind but to go see Mickey and all his friends. It was so nice to get away and not worry for a week. My son has gone through numerous open heart surgeries his first two years of life. He is on medicine that keeps him healthy today but he will need more surgeries in the future to save his heart. We may not know what his future brings but I know my family will have memories of this trip forever! I appreciate that my daughter was included in everything and was made to feel just as special as my son. Even though she did not physically go through what he went through it was very hard on her as well so Thank You! The Give Kids the World Village is unexplainable….it is such a warm and caring place and it gave us the chance to meet other families who all have a story. I have attached a few pictures from our trip. It was hard to decide which ones to share because we took 523, we did not want to miss a thing!
Thank you for all that you do,
Anthony’s Family
Thank you so much for my wish. I have ITP, an autoimmune disorder that attacks blood platelets. Last year, for some unknown reason, it went into over drive. My hematologist nominated me for Make a Wish, because it was so difficult.About a month ago, I went on my wish to meet The Sims (computer game) team at EA Games. We were welcomed by almost the whole team when we arrived. We met the audio director who took us to the sound studio and explained how the voices and animations work. Next, we went on a tour of EA Games.
I’ve been thinking about a career in video game art design or animation, so I was able to ask quite a lot of questions and I was presented with signed artwork and a book.
Lastly, I went to the animation department where the senior animator showed me around and introduced me to staff. I also had an opportunity to use an animation program. After I did a rough animation he told me that they’ll clean it up and use it in the next game. I was purely blown away.
This Wish was so incredible. It did something even more than just allowed me to meet the creators of a game that I like. It solidified my thoughts on what I’m interested in doing for the rest of my life. I know animation is a good career for me!
Thank you for the opportunity Make-A-Wish!
Roselynn
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
Thank you for granting Axel’s wish to go on the Disney Magic Cruise. It was a great blessing to see my child so happy. In fact the first thing he said when we got on the motor coach that picked us up was “Mama I don’t have therapy for this whole week!!”Axel loved going to the different clubs and especially dancing with Goofy. He had a blast going in the Mickey Pool and also in the Hot Tub. He enjoyed everything! He even cried at the farewell show because he didn’t want to leave. Each member of the staff was so nice to my son and the whole family. We met with Danielle, who assisted us. She would always bring my kids so many goodies! Axel even got to trick or treat on the boat.
Words can’t express the joy. Our family is grateful to the foundation. You made us forget about everything and just relax and have fun. Thank you again from all of us it’s just like Mickey Mouse said, ” All you need in life is love, trust and Pixy Dust “. God Bless all of your hearts. All of you have a great big spot in our hearts forever. God Bless you All,
Axel’s Family
P.S. Axel told me not to forget to tell everyone that Mickey and everyone else autographed his Phillies hat and a special frame of all the characters we got at the gift store. He also got to sit on the captain’s chair and go to an exclusive farewell party that only involved a few kids on the boat. There he got to personally meet the characters and get lots of hugs!!
We wanted to thank you for the time and effort you put into making this trip so very special for Savannah. She had the most amazing time and we wanted to share some photos with you. Thank you again for all you did to help make her wish come true.
Hi, My name is Dustin. I had a brain tumor and from my surgery I lost my right side functions. Could not move my arm or leg and my speech was bad. I am doing great now! I am writing with my right hand ok and walking good. Still going to therapy. Me and my family would love to say THANK YOU to MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION for making my wish to go to JAMAICA. We had the best time. THANK YOU, Dustin
Dear Make-A-Wish, We saw the musical, “Fela!”. It was incredible. It was the first thing we did within an hour of arriving in the city. Zoe and I love to go to dance performances and we went to a great one at the Lincoln center.The Colbert people were fantastic!!!! We hung out with his assistant, Amy, who was a sweetheart. She gave us a tour of the whole place. The writers and producers offices, the control room, Stephen’s office, everything. The show was hysterical. We got to meet him briefly after the show and take pictures and ask questions. He is a doll!!!!It turned out that the same night we got to go to the Anderson Cooper show at the CNN studios. Our cousin who is a producer there also gave us an amazing tour and we hung out in the control room, on the set and actually met Anderson, an extremely nice man.
It was all pretty incredible. On our last morning Zoe bought a souvenir at Tiffany’s and she was ecstatic! We then went to meet friends and family in Town as an extra treat. As an ending, we also took a lovely walk and snacked in Central Park. Then the relaxing ride home in the limo. We were exhausted!!!!
It was a blast. Thank you for everything!!!! It was really great for Zoe and she was so appreciative and many, many times told me how happy she was and how perfect it all was. Thanks for arranging everything.
Zoe’s Mom
First of all I would like to thank you and everyone involved in making Mikayla’s wish come true. We, as a family, had a wonderful time at Disney! Words cannot express how grateful my girls and I are for this experience.
Mikayla’s Mom
On behalf of my entire family and especially myself, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my dream and wish come true. You have truly made a difference in my life considering this is the FIRST good computer I have ever had. I ALWAYS wanted one and never thought I would be able to afford it. Well, you guys made that work for me. Now I am sitting in my comfortable chair and awesome desk (thanks so much for that they rock!) playing my new games (that I can finally play because of this computer) and learning some cool photoshop tricks.
THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!
Pawel
My wish came true…I was so excited to meet Taylor Swift and really enjoyed the concert. Thank you for the best and most memorable day!
Thank you for the best and most memorable day!
Colleen
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
We just returned from Florida a few days ago and we all had a great time. Sophia was very happy to be there, and for the first time in a while we started to see smiles on a regular basis. It is impossible to thank you and all of the Make-A-Wish staff enough for helping us get to the happiest place on earth.
Sophia’s parents
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
How many ways is there to say Thank You? No matter how many ways there are to say thank you, it is still not enough. We are so grateful, blessed and thankful for this wonderful experience.
Erin was so excited to meet the Princess and Mickey Mouse. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. One of the many highlights of the trip was when Captain America asked Erin if she would like to meet the rest of his super hero friends. Of course she said yes and she had her very own special meet and greet! There were so many wonderful and special things that happened on our trip, that if I named them all…this letter would turn into a novel.
Thank you once again.
Erin’s Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
I would like to thank you so much for allowing my family and me such an amazing trip. Atlantis was, for me, a dream come true! The best part of Atlantis was the scenery it was beautiful, and the weather was also a refreshing change. My family and I did a lot of activities; we went out to dinner every night to amazing restaurants. We went to the beach or the pools everyday. There were lots of fun waterslides and activities to do during the day.I would also like to thank Bill, the man that came to my house and gave my family details on the trip. He was really nice and thankful he came.
Without this program I am certain that I would never have gotten to experience a trip like this in my life. Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Colette’s Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation:
I wanted to take a moment to thank the Make-A-Wish Foundation - and our donor who made Matthew’s wish come true - for the amazing experience that we had on our Make-A-Wish trip in February. Matthew was diagnosed with an advanced stage of Burkitt’s lymphoma in November 2008. Burkitt’s lymphoma is a very aggressive type of cancer and Matthew spent almost a year after his diagnosis undergoing intense chemotherapy treatments. Matthew thankfully is now in remission but — needless to say — the past year or so has been a very difficult time for Matthew, his brother, and our entire family. For Matthew and our family to be able to go on such a wonderful trip through the Make-A-Wish Foundation after experiencing such an incredibly difficult year meant the world to us. Every day, as I looked at the sheer joy on Mathew’s face, I was reminded of how far we have come since last year and how incredibly lucky we were to be on this trip. I can honestly say I have never seen Matthew or his brother smile and laugh so much. We loved EVERYTHING about the trip. The Give Kids the World Village was like a fantasy land for the kids and made our family feel so special and welcome. And, of course, we all loved the parks at Walt Disney World® Resort and Universal Studios - how could we not!! We don’t know what life has in store for Matthew - or for anyone in our family. But we do know that no matter what happens, we will always have our Make-A-Wish trip as a special memory that will bring us happiness every time we talk about the trip, look at our hundreds of pictures, and just think about what a fantastic time we had. On behalf of myself, my husband Bill, Matthew and Will, thank you for everything that Make-A-Wish has done for us. Please pass this letter and attached pictures on to our donor to express our thankfulness and deep appreciation.
Very truly yours,
Matthew’s Mom
To the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
You granted our son, Jason, his wish to go to Walt Disney World® Resort and we just wanted to thank you for an awesome trip. The ladies that came to our home and talked with Jason about his wish were very compassionate and kind. The drivers from Unique Limousine were superb. They were very professional and got us to the airport and back home safely, but they also took the time to talk to my son – it was not all about business. The staff from Southwest Airlines was great. They went out of their way to accommodate our family. The ladies, Laurel and Carole, who met us at the airport, were wonderful. They not only took time to explain everything to us, but they took a genuine interest in our family and even took the time to leave us a note at the Villa. Thank you to Avis Rent A Car who gave us a larger vehicle when we explained we needed room for my son’s scooter.
The “Give Kids the World” Village was a wonderful place to stay. The villa was outstanding and the staff, volunteers and food in the dining room were terrific. Everyone in the village treated not only our son, but our entire family with such kindness. The gifts he received each day made Jason’s trip that much more special. They even went out of their way to provide transportation for my mother when both scooters would not fit into the van. The activities made available for the children, the all day ice cream and pizza, the cookie cart, movies, parties, etc were exceptional and showed how much you really care about the kids.
Staff at Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios and Sea World were outstanding – they made sure that we were well taken care of and we thoroughly enjoyed each park. The money provided for other expenses such as gas, souvenirs and lunch while we were at the parks was more than we could have ever expected. We were able to buy lots of pictures so Jason would have keepsakes. Finally, to top it off, you gave us more tickets for other parks around the country. We could never have imagined we would be given so much.
Your organization is remarkable and we were truly blessed. You allowed our son to feel special and forget about his illness for a week. You gave him the opportunity to be a carefree 12-year-old with wonderful memories and we can’t thank you enough for that. “Thank you” really doesn’t cover it, but please accept our heartfelt gratitude for what you’ve done for our family and may others like us.
Jason’s Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
We want to express our sincere thanks and let you know how grateful we are for everyone who made my daughter’s Make-A-Wish trip happen. My 4-year-old daughter, Delaney, had her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney at the end of October. Her trip was scheduled for the end of November, but because of some questionable test results, we had to go on our trip early, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation was able to do that for us.So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for giving Delaney and our whole family a week free of cancer and chemotherapy…-a week full of fun and magical moments…a week that Delaney truly deserved. Delaney’s wish came true every single day we were there. I have attached a few pictures to share with you so you can see how magical our week was! Thank you for everything!
Sincerely,
Delaney’s Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation:
We are so humbled and thankful for the acts of kindness, gifts and prayers that we have seen and received this past year of Travis’ illness, from strangers, family and friends. Thank you Make-A-Wish Foundation for bringing some joy to my son. His wish trip to Hawaii was amazing! The work that you do leaves a beautiful imprint on so many lives. When you have a sick child you feel so helpless, all you want is to take it away from them. Your heart and soul are aching and crying out. The trip brought laughter, fun and relaxation back in to my son’s life and seeing that has eased the ache.
Travis says his favorite part of his wish trip was the Dolphin Quest and the luau. He also enjoyed the shopping and just waking up in a warm tropical paradise.
God Bless,
Travis’ Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
On behalf of Carson, Joe and I want to thank the Make-A-Wish Foundation for granting his wish to Walt Disney World® Resort. THANK YOU!!!! Carson had a great time riding the rides and meeting the characters. His days were busy and he did so much in that week. Give Kids the World Village is a pretty amazing and special place. Joe and I were so glad to have been able to visit there and meet the wonderful volunteers and other families there with us. It is wonderful that a place like GKTW exists for our children with exceptional needs. It is a place for them to just be kids. We enjoyed the trip just as much as Carson did! Thank you for coordinating Carson’s trip. Everything went smoothly and the Posey bed worked great. I am sending a few pictures to you of Carson.
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
My entire family and I want to truly thank each of you and everyone involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
My step daughter, Lauren had always dreamed of going to Disney. When we heard of this program, we thought we would refer Lauren. Lauren has a Genetic syndrome known as Smith-Magenis Syndrome.
We have just got back from Disney and I wanted to send a quick note to thank each of you and tell you of the fabulous experience we had. From the very beginning, things were very clear and well planned. If I had questions or concerns, there was someone to assist. The entire trip was great, especially the Give Kids the World Village. Not only were the accommodations alone great, the service and special attention was incredible. Knowing that the majority of the people involved at the village are volunteers, pushes the heart felt gratitude that we experienced. All the parks were very gracious and courteous of Lauren’s condition.
Lauren wants to send her own thank you card and pictures, but from all of us, thank you. Your Foundation and the work that is put into celebrating these young children are beyond words and expressions. Please know that it takes a special person to change the life of a special child!!!
Lauren’s Family
Dear Make-A-Wish Foundation,
We want to thank you so very much for the Bowflex for Brendan. He absolutely loves it and greatly appreciates being able to help keep his muscles strong. Thank you for all you do. It was a wonderful experience for Brendan.
Our deepest thanks,
Brendan’s Family
