Nine-Year-Old Santa Barbara Boy to be Surprised with Laptop Wish
A limo picked him up at home for his doctor’s appointment and drove him to the park near his appointment location where Juan was surprised with his laptop wish. After his appointment he met up again with his Wish Granters and the Best Buy Geek Squad to learn all about his new laptop.
Juan was referred to Make-A-Wish by Robyn Howard-Anderson, Pediatric Oncology Social Worker at Cottage Children’s Hospital. Robyn is a critical partner in the wish granting process, having referred more than 40 children for wishes. Robyn was able to join Juan for the celebration.
HOW TO HELP:
Donated airline miles are needed now more than ever. Wish kids who have taken flight this year with 27 airline tickets purchased with donated miles include Zachary, Breanna, Anthony, Dylan, Anthony, Natalie and Jovaan. Another 7 donated wish family flights are possible if a million mile match for miles is completed by Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties by August 31, 2013.
More than half of 80+ wishes granted this year by Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties will involve air travel. To donate and have your miles matched, go to http://tri-counties.wish.org/ways-to-help/wishes-in-flightsm/ or call 805 676 9474 x4 by August 31, 2013.
Through a special matching grant, donated miles will be matched up to 1 million miles and will be used to send sick children from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties and their families on wish trips.
500,000 miles have been donated to date. A donation of 7,500 miles that is matched creates a $200 savings for Make-A-Wish.
Locally, 8 million donated miles are needed annually to grant wishes. In a normal year, only about 1 million miles are donated. With small pockets of miles available for donation throughout the tri-counties, airline tickets are the most avoidable significant expense for the local chapter.
ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH TRI-COUNTIES
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. With a staff of only four and the help of more than 100 volunteers, Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties has granted over 1200 special wishes to children in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. If you want to refer a child to Make-A-Wish, call 1-888-899-9474 [WISH]. Donations may be sent to Make-A-Wish at 4222 Market Street, Suite D, Ventura, CA 93003. For more information on these or other ways to help visit our website at: www.tri-counties.wish.org.