This Saturday, the Walk for Wishes event, organized by Make-A-Wish Idaho, will take place at Russ Freeman Park in Idaho Falls. This is an annual event, which is now in its third year. It helps bring together the community to support and celebrate children with critical illnesses. The donations collected at the event are used to make these children’s wishes come true.
The Walk for Wishes is a significant part of Make-A-Wish Idaho’s mission to grant life changing wishes to children with a variety of severe medical conditions. Cae Odell, who works as the special events coordinator for Make-A-Wish Idaho, says each event is important because without charitable donors, it makes their jobs a lot harder to do.
“Every dollar that we make, everything, goes and is allocated to granting wishes. None of it’s for overhead, none of it’s for operations. Every dollar that is fundraised is dedicated and allocated to granting wishes,” he said. “The average cost of a wish is anywhere between about $7,500 to $10,000, and it depends, every wish is different, every wish is unique.”
The event not only raises funds but also provides a day of enjoyment and connection for WISH families and the community. They’ll provide activities from balloon artists to local food vendors, and the popular 501st Legion of Star Wars cosplayers.
“It’s a really great way to interact with the community and really great way for our WISH families to be able to connect with each other and find a little bit more of that specific type of community with other families who have gone through or are going through the experience of having a sick child,” Odell said.
When reflecting on the impact of these wishes, Odell shared a heartwarming story of a young girl whose wish was to visit animals. She was sent to the Smoky Mountain Farm in Tennessee, one of the country’s largest animal petting zoos, and got to spend time with all the animals such as majestic peacocks to cute baby tigers. Odell says every experience with Make-A-Wish is uniquely catered to that child’s personality and likes, so when they are able to make a child’s dream come true, it is a fulfilling experience.
“The wonderful thing about Make-A-Wish is that we have so many different opportunities to get involved, whether that’s donating your money, whether that’s donating time and becoming a wish granter or doing something on the volunteer level,” Odell said. “There’s no shortage of opportunities that Make-A-Wish has to offer when it comes to getting involved and being part of this side of the community.”
The Walk for Wishes event kicks off with registration and a T-shirt pick up starting at 9 a.m. The walk will begin around 10 a.m. and the event will be held at the Russ Freeman Park in Idaho Falls. If you would like to learn more information about the event, learn about volunteer opportunities or a place to donate, you can check out Idaho.wish.org.