MAKE-A-WISH NEWS RELEASE
Share the power of a wish® at Waffles & Wishes, the third annual signature breakfast fundraiser and silent auction for Make-A-Wish® in Northern Nevada. The event will run from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 26, at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and will include a silent auction, delicious breakfast, and heartwarming stories from past wish children and their families.
This event will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Make-A-Wish in Northern Nevada.
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. To this end, Make-A-Wish has granted the wishes of more than 231,000 children battling life-threatening diseases throughout the country. Nearly 5,000 of those wishes have been granted in the 37-county territory that comprises Make-A-Wish Northeastern California and Northern Nevada.
At Waffles & Wishes, guests will experience the history of this wonderful organization through several presentations from past wish families and wish children. The presentations will look back at 30 years of wish-granting in Northern Nevada, including an interview with Barbara Worobey, mother of Lisa Ann Worobey, who received one of the first dozen wishes granted in Northern Nevada.
Lisa’s wish to graduate high school was granted in 1986, three years after the chapter incorporated. Lisa had missed her junior prom and spent much of her senior year at Wooster High School in the hospital. She was not expected to survive to see her graduation. Make-A-Wish arranged a special graduation ceremony for Lisa to ensure that her wish came true.
Thankfully, Lisa’s strength overcame her illness, and she survived to become a fashion designer and mother. She courageously continued to inspire our community until her recent passing in January 2013. The impact of Lisa’s wish resonated throughout her life.
Also presenting at the event will be Derek Allbee and his son Conner. Conner received his wish for a travel trailer in 2006. Despite his constant battle with a life-threatening condition, at 17, he still regularly uses his trailer and builds more and more experiences with his family.
As a result of the inspiration from Conner’s wish, the Allbee family has gone on to be involved in Make-A-Wish by helping to grant the wishes of other children, hosting fundraisers for the organization and participating in the leadership of the chapter.
Several other families will tell their stories of inspiration and hope. Make-A-Wish creates a lasting impact in the lives of the children and families it serves, providing an opportunity for the children to have the strength to often overcome their many medical challenges.
At each Waffles & Wishes event, Make-A-Wish also grants the wish of a new child. This year First Lady Kathleen Sandoval will help to grant the heartfelt wish of three-year-old Isaac.
Isaac, a Reno resident, has been bravely fighting liver cancer for several years, but through his illness, Isaac has looked forward to a family road trip through California, with stops at the Jelly Belly Factory, and sites in San Francisco such as the Children’s Discovery Museum and Exploratorium. Isaac’s magical journey will cumulate at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where he will finally be able to see the fish he has only seen in books.
This little boy shines with joy and enthusiasm and loves to spend time with his mom and dad exploring or having hands-on fun – anything that does not focus on his treatments. Particular favorites of Isaac’s are riding elevators and ordering room service during the many hotel stays he has experienced from his treatment visits to the Bay Area. Isaac’s wish is generously sponsored by UnitedHealthcare.
The Northern Nevada Regional Office of Make-A-Wish Northeastern California and Northern Nevada is hoping that guests at the Waffles & Wishes breakfast will help raise enough funds to sponsor at least 15 of the 47 wishes the organization expects to grant in Northern Nevada this year. The average cash cost of a wish granted is $5,000. Many wishes also receive generous backing of local and national sponsors through in-kind support.
More than 500 individual guests and business sponsors are expected to attend Waffles & Wishes. Admission is free, but guests are encouraged to donate at the event and participate in a wonderful silent auction. Pre-registration is required for the event, and only a few seats are available. Please call 775-826-8008 to register.
Waffles & Wishes is generously and entirely sponsored by the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, KNPB and Digiprint, allowing 100 percent of the donations of the event to directly fund the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions in Northern Nevada.
For more information about Make-A-Wish Northeastern California and Northern Nevada, please contact Cynthia R. Freeman, Ph.D., regional director, at 775-826-8008 or through email at [email protected].
About Make-A-Wish®
Make-A-Wish® Northeastern California and Northern Nevada was established in 1983 as one of the early local chapters of Make-A-Wish® America, which is the leading wish-granting organization in the country. Since then, it has granted more than 4,700 wishes to children within its 37-county service area. The mission of Make-A-Wish® is to grant wishes to children, age 2 ½ to 18, with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
For more information about Make-A-Wish® Northeastern California and Northern Nevada, including how you can help refer a child for a wish; financially support a child’s wish; participate in Adopt-A-Wish®; donate in-kind gifts of goods or services, airline frequent flier miles or vehicles, please call 916-437-0206 or visit www.necannv.wish.org/.
