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Community DC Lesli Creedon Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic · Community D.C.

• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome to another edition of Community d C.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I'm your host Dennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome back
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: to the program Leslie Creeden. She is the president and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: CEO for a Make a Wish mid Atlantic, which grants
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: life changing wishes to children age two and a half
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: eighteen with critical illnesses to provide strength, joy and hope,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: often acting as a turning point in their treatment. They
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: work with families, donors, and volunteers to create personalized experiences
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: like travel, gifts or meetings with idols covering all associated costs.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: We'll be visiting with a Make a Wish Mom Emily
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  Speaker 1: and talking about her extraordinary son Zachary, and their experience
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  Speaker 1: with Make a Wish mid Atlantic. We cover a lot
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: of ground over the next thirty minutes, so here's my
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: conversation with both Leslie and Emily. I hope you enjoy
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  Speaker 1: it as much as I did. Good morning, Leslie.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Good morning, how are you.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I'm well and welcome back to Community DC. It's nice
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: to have you. We're also going to talk to a
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: special guest, a Make a Wish Mom Emily and her
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: son Zachary and taking care of their family being a
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: zoo keeper it's a great story. I want you to
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  Speaker 1: stay tuned for that in about maybe thirteen or fourteen minutes.
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  Speaker 1: But Leslie, we've had you on before, but there's a
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: lot of listeners who didn't get to hear you the
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  Speaker 1: first time about Make a Wish Atlantic, and I'd like
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: to do this to talk about all the incredible things
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  Speaker 1: you have. I know you've done some things with Igala
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  Speaker 1: and events, and there's some coming up. A lot of
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  Speaker 1: money's being made, more money to be made in twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty six, which we'll talk about how to donate and
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: how to give back. But I would like to talk
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  Speaker 1: about the history back to nineteen eighty Make a Wish
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  Speaker 1: and how everything started, and then we'll talk about Make
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: a Wish Atlantic mid Atlantic. But can you just kind
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  Speaker 1: of go over the overall history and how everything started
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  Speaker 1: for us.
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  Speaker 2: Or I'm happy to It's interesting.
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  Speaker 3: I think people think we've been around forever, but as
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  Speaker 3: you said, it was only just in nineteen eighty that
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  Speaker 3: Make a Wish was inspired and founded.
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  Speaker 2: And the history is that.
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  Speaker 3: There was a little boy living in Phoenix by the
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  Speaker 3: name of Chris Gricious. He was battling leukemia and Christopher
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  Speaker 3: loved everything having to do with law enforcement, and a
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  Speaker 3: group of amazing people within the community from customs and
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  Speaker 3: Border the local sheriff's department came together and made Chris
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  Speaker 3: an honorary.
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  Speaker 2: Police officer for the day.
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  Speaker 3: They took him up in a helicopter, they had a
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  Speaker 3: badge for him, they had a uniform, and it was
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  Speaker 3: something that gave this child joy and it gave his
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  Speaker 3: mother to this day, happy memories to look back on
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  Speaker 3: after Chris unfortunately lost his battle with childhood cancer. Linda Gricious,
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  Speaker 3: his mother, and all of the people who helped grant
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  Speaker 3: Christopher's wish are still involved in a wish to this day,
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  Speaker 3: and a couple of short years will celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.
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  Speaker 1: That's huge, absolutely huge, and I imagine that the wishes exponentially.
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  Speaker 1: I've gotten more and more, and I know it's ambitious,
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  Speaker 1: and it's hundreds every year. What's the latest data as
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  Speaker 1: far as wishes that you've made when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: mid Atlantic.
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  Speaker 3: So here in the mid Atlantic we have granted over
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  Speaker 3: twelve thousand, five hundred whites.
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  Speaker 1: My goodness are established.
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  Speaker 4: It unreal.
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  Speaker 3: I know nationwide we're close to sixteen thousand wishes every
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  Speaker 3: single year that are granted in the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, Okay, We've got everybody's attention. How do you qualify
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  Speaker 1: for Make a Wish? How does the whole process start
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  Speaker 1: if you've got a child, I'd like to know the criteria.
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  Speaker 1: I think parents are really interested and I imagine there's
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: always a waiting list. But how does everything work?
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  Speaker 3: So first of all, let me just explain for your
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  Speaker 3: listeners when we talk about mid Atlantic that what territory
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  Speaker 3: that encompasses. So Make a Wish mid Atlantic is responsible
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  Speaker 3: for all of the children throughout the entire state of Maryland,
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  Speaker 3: the Northern Virginia suburbs in Washington, DC. The eligibility criteria
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  Speaker 3: for a Wish though, is the same throughout the country.
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  Speaker 3: And basically what we have done is established very strong
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  Speaker 3: partnerships with pediatricians and pediatric specialists in all of the
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  Speaker 3: major children's hospitals in our territory, so the IOVA System,
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  Speaker 3: NIH Children's National, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Kennedy Krieger
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  Speaker 3: Mount Washington. And by working with these hospitals, when they
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  Speaker 3: come across or diagnose a child who has a critical illness,
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  Speaker 3: they refer them to us, and by critical illness. What
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  Speaker 3: we mean is a progressive degenerate or a malignant condition
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  Speaker 3: that is placing the child's life in jeopardy at the
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  Speaker 3: time that they enter them Make a Wish journey. So
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  Speaker 3: any parent can also recommend and refer a child.
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  Speaker 2: It's really easy.
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  Speaker 3: They just go to our website wish dot Org refer
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  Speaker 3: a child, but they will have to also then.
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  Speaker 2: Have their doctor or pediatrician back up that claim, and
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  Speaker 2: we handle all that paperwork for.
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  Speaker 1: Them very good. You know, one of the things, without
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  Speaker 1: making any assumptions that you must have some incredible relationships
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  Speaker 1: around the country. Now, I know you and your team
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  Speaker 1: still have to do the legwork. Things don't just magically appear.
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  Speaker 1: But I imagine when you call or reach out to somebody,
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  Speaker 1: there aren't a lot of no's when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: celebrities and sports teams in Disneyland, all the special different
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  Speaker 1: wishes that are requested out there. I imagine it makes
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  Speaker 1: a little bit easier that Make a Wish is a
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  Speaker 1: pretty significant brand that a lot of people don't want
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  Speaker 1: to be a part of.
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  Speaker 3: Definitely, definitely, there's an organization here in DC called Morning
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  Speaker 3: con So that does a survey every year looking at
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  Speaker 3: the trust and confidence in one hundred different nonprofits across
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  Speaker 3: the United States, everything from environmental organizations to home housing
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  Speaker 3: and food and security organizations, health organizations, and we are
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  Speaker 3: consistently number two is the most loved and trusted nonprofit
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  Speaker 3: and our good companies. Sitting at number one is Saint Jude, right,
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  Speaker 3: and so we also work obviously the children at say
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  Speaker 3: June many of those are also referring wishes as well,
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  Speaker 3: so we have fantastic brand recognition, and you're right, it
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  Speaker 3: allows and motivates people to help us make the wishes
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  Speaker 3: come true for our children, no matter what those crazy,
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  Speaker 3: fanciful wish requests might be.
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  Speaker 1: And more to that, without trying to generalize too much,
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  Speaker 1: because I know there are thousands of different types of
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  Speaker 1: wishes out there, you really not only take care of
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  Speaker 1: the child that's making the wish, but also if there
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  Speaker 1: are sometimes siblings and the family members and a lot
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  Speaker 1: is taken care of, there really aren't a lot of
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  Speaker 1: cost to the family that you're trying to cover as
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  Speaker 1: much as possible. That we'll get to a little bit
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  Speaker 1: later in ways to give. But that's how you guys roll, correct,
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  Speaker 1: That's right.
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  Speaker 3: Everybody in the family participates in the wish. And it's
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  Speaker 3: not just the wish, right, it's the whole what we
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  Speaker 3: call wish journey. So from the time a child is
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  Speaker 3: referred to us while they're imagining their wish, while they're
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  Speaker 3: waiting for their wish to come true, that's really important.
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  Speaker 3: It's the wish is just a moment in time, but
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  Speaker 3: the wish experience wraps that family around and a community
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  Speaker 3: of support during all of the days that they're with
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  Speaker 3: our family and beyond as alumni. And I think what's
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  Speaker 3: really important that you said too, is that there are
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  Speaker 3: no costs at all to the family.
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  Speaker 2: Right. Make a Wish to takes care of everything.
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  Speaker 3: We take care of even helping you get a passport
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  Speaker 3: if you want to do an international trip. Everything is
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  Speaker 3: done for the families so that all they need to
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  Speaker 3: do is experience joy and be with their family and
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  Speaker 3: have respit and take care of their child and let
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  Speaker 3: that child be a child for the day, get them
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  Speaker 3: out of a hospital, get them out of a treatment room,
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  Speaker 3: but just have a normal childhood for a moment in time.
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  Speaker 1: Your communications team has been nice enough to get us
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  Speaker 1: hooked up with a Make a Wish mom Emily and
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  Speaker 1: we're going to talk about our son, Zachary. We're going
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  Speaker 1: to tell the story and interview Emily in just a
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  Speaker 1: second here, But can you just give us a little
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  Speaker 1: heads up what we're looking for to because it's just
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  Speaker 1: one of many incredible stories that you have annually, isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Oh my gosh, yeah, little Zachary. I love his wish.
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  Speaker 3: Before joining to Make a Wish, I worked at the
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  Speaker 3: National Zoo, So Zachary's wish is really special to me personally,
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  Speaker 3: and I love it because.
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  Speaker 2: His wish was to be zoo keeper.
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  Speaker 3: And Emily and Zachary's story, their family story is really touching.
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  Speaker 3: And he also was suffering leukemia like my son. So
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  Speaker 3: I feel a lot of kinship to Emily and to
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  Speaker 3: her son.
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  Speaker 2: Love talking to her.
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  Speaker 1: That's great, Well, let's do that now. Let's meet Emily
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  Speaker 1: right now. Good morning, Emily.
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  Speaker 2: Hi Dennis, how are you.
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  Speaker 1: I'm well? Thanks for joining us, and we heard a
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  Speaker 1: little bit about your story in Zachary. I know that
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  Speaker 1: you're a mom with three, and I'd love to hear
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  Speaker 1: your story. You know, when it comes to make a Wish,
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  Speaker 1: we get to hear so many great stories, and yours
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  Speaker 1: is so cool and with Zachary, he got a great wish.
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  Speaker 1: But I would like you to talk about him first,
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  Speaker 1: about being introduced to Make a Wish mid Atlantic, how
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: did everything start, and tell us a little bit about Zachary.
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  Speaker 4: Sure, happy to help. So I again have three boys.
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  Speaker 4: Zachary is my middle son. He is now eight but
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  Speaker 4: three and a half. Was diagnosed with ALA, which is
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: a type of leukemia, and this happened in April twenty
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  Speaker 4: twenty one. And for his type of leukemia, that's about
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  Speaker 4: a two and a half year treatment process. The first
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: nine years of nine months of that is the most intensive,
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  Speaker 4: so he was in the hospital or the clinic at
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  Speaker 4: least once a week. Anytime he had a fever of
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  Speaker 4: one hundred point four, we had to go to the er,
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  Speaker 4: potentially having to be hospitalized if his accounts were really low.
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  Speaker 4: So during those two and a half years we were
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  Speaker 4: kind of going back and forth and getting his treatment
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  Speaker 4: and in those first nine months being almost like an
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  Speaker 4: extension of COVID and being in the house, not really
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  Speaker 4: exposed to free his friends, his school, or anything that
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  Speaker 4: typical kids his age had access to. So we knew
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: of Make a Wish and the fact that he would
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: qualify for a wish pretty early on in his treatment journey.
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  Speaker 4: A lot of the staff at the hospital with the
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  Speaker 4: clinic would use that to help him be excited and
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  Speaker 4: motivated in his treatment process for a three and a
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: half year old and even now as an eight year old,
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  Speaker 4: he tells me, I remember when I was on Tooby medicine.
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  Speaker 4: Things didn't taste good. It was very hard to eat,
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  Speaker 4: or I didn't want to do, you know, get the
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: shots or get treatment. And so that wish, knowing that
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: he was going to have the ability to ask for
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: something and maybe potentially get this wild wish, really helped
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: us get through some of the tough times and helping
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  Speaker 4: him say, hey, you know, if we get through this
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  Speaker 4: the faster we get this medicine or eat and grow strong,
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  Speaker 4: you can go make your wish and we can go
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: do whatever it is that you want to do.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: That's wonderful. And we've learned from Leslie and talking a
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: lot about make a Wish mid Atlantic that wishes are
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: sometimes the best medicine. So when Zach we started talking
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  Speaker 1: about what he wanted to do, what was it.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so he wanted to be a Zuku preferred day
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: and when we worked with him to come up this wish,
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: and the wish grunters also helped us, you know, do
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: a little bit brainstorming. He was pretty clear from the
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: beginning this is what he wanted to do, and specifically
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  Speaker 4: there are a few animals that he was very obsessed
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  Speaker 4: with at that time, one of them being in Armadillo.
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  Speaker 4: He could tell you everything about Armadillos, the Nine Band
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  Speaker 4: at Armadello, and you know that Sirin Armadello's carried leprosy.
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  Speaker 4: And he was very clear he didn't want to meet
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: the Armadillos that had leprosy, and we said, okay, we'll
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: make sure to pass that to make a wish. But
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: he wanted to be a zoo zookeeper, go meet animals,
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: learn how to take care of them, and also to
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: meet in Armadillo.
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  Speaker 1: Well that's huge. So tell us about asking about the
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: wish and then how was executed and how was the experience.
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so we had some wishgrunchers come to our house
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  Speaker 4: and get to know our family and really get to
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: know Zachary and what he likes and he doesn't like.
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: And it wasn't in the context of the wish. They
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: really made Zacher feel like they cared about him and
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: who he was and understanding who what he likes and
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: doesn't like, to help him come up with a wish
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  Speaker 4: that was truly number one, something that he wanted to do,
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  Speaker 4: but also would be a memory that he would carry
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: on for the rest of his life rather than just
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: in that moment and what you know a seven year
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: old would want as a seven year old. So they
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: came and helped us come down finally to this zoo
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  Speaker 4: keeper idea, and they kind of ran with it. They
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: knew that we wanted to do it around the time
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: of his birthday, and so they found some zoos that
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: were willing to let a seven year old get close
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: to an armadillo. They found zoos that were willing to
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  Speaker 4: give us more of a behind the scenes experience, and
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  Speaker 4: they also advocated for us because, like you know, most
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  Speaker 4: zoos don't typically allow three young boys to go behind
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  Speaker 4: the scenes, and so I'm sure it took them a
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  Speaker 4: lot to find an opportunity that met what Zach really wanted.
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  Speaker 4: He didn't just want to see animals, but to experience
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: them and get up close and personal. And even the
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: staff there there were so kind that they even went
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: out of their ways to order these Safari zookeeper outfits
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  Speaker 4: for all three of my boys. So they showed up
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: on the zoosday wearing their zookeeper outfits and they would
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: collect like little feathers and special trinkets in their pockets
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: and they actually matched coincidentally the zookeepers that day and
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: they loved it.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Well, that's huge, and you know that they did it
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  Speaker 1: for all the boys in the family just says a
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: lot about make the wish them in Atlantic. So I
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: think that's cool. I'd like you to do me a
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: favor before we let you. First of all, how Zach
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: are you doing.
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  Speaker 4: He's doing great. He is eight now, he's a third
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: grader and just like his peers, loving you know, video games,
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: playing outside, reading and just having fun with his brothers.
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  Speaker 1: You know, one of the things that Leslie and I
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: get to talk about our families like yours, and I
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: know that you've had a wonderful experience. So we have
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: a lot of parents probably listening right now saying, Wow,
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: that sounds wonderful. Can you give from your perspective and
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: your family. You've talked a little bit about how it
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: all came together and then the execute it. But just
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: about working with Make a Wish from your perspective, can
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: you share this a little bit of that with some
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: of the families that are listening.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah, My, the thing I noticed the most when I
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: started working with Make a Wish is that everyone has
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: their own story of why they're there. And when I
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: think of, you know, in my personal life, in my
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: work life, of people that I meet at work, you know,
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: we're there for work and with Make a Wish, whether
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: it was the Girl Wish grantors or even Leslie and
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: her staff having met her and other you know, opportunities
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: since then, all of them have a story of how
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: they got connected, whether they were a parent of a
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: Wish alumni, whether they were a Wish alumni themselves, or
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: somehow has some family or personal connection to someone that
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: has been granted a Wish to some point, and that
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: person connection makes the process just so much more personal
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: for us as well, knowing that they weren't just there
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: to check the checkbox, that my son was just another individual,
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: but that they really felt the mission in not just
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: why they were there, but every person that they touched.
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: And I just found that very unique that they have
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: that kind of connection and can bring it into what
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: they do on a day to day basis, and especially
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: with kids like Zachary or any kid that gets a wish,
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: you know, there's not many things that they're alive right now,
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: especially during treatment, that they can control. And you know,
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: whether it's getting treatment on what like they get the
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: shot or when they get the shot, it has to
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: get done.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: And this was one of.
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: Those opportunities where he kind of got to call the
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: shots and it was a very special experience to be
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: able to do that with staff and a team that
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: really advocated for him and understood the importance of that
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: moment and that wish for our family.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Emily, you've been so very kind with your time. Thank
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: you so much. I'm glad Zachary's doing well, and please
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: give our best to your whole family. And thank you
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: so much for joining us on Community DC. We really
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: appreciate it. Thank you, Dennis Leslie. That was a wonderful
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: conversation with Emily, and you know she's got a full
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: play with three boys, and then when you have a
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: sick child, you know, the one thing that we don't
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: get to talk about always the other side, you know,
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: make a wish is cool, and what you do in
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: the execution, we're talking about sick kids and there's a
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: lot of you know, heartache and sorrow and tears, and
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: sometimes I know that that families don't come through with
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: the positive story afterwards, and we lose people in this world.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: And I know that's part of what you do, you
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: and your team out there, and I don't know how
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: you do it every day. God bless you and your team,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: but you're still executing something that's really cool and magical
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: and making memories why people are still on this earth.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: And I think that's something you probably take away every
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: day with you, don't you.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Definitely, And I appreciate you recognizing the emotional told that
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: this can take on our team and our volunteers. I
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: think there is no greater privilege than when a child
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: is at an end of life situation to have the
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: ability to come in and bring a moment of happiness
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: to them and to create a memory for their family,
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: a memory where they can remember having a child that
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: is happy even during the really most horrendous and difficult
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: days and times of their life. It's an awesome responsibility,
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: it's an awesome privilege, and that's why we all come
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: to work every day. Yeah, for those happy days, but
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: also those sad days.
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: I don't have to ask you about this is why
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: we get up question because I know why you do,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: because you really change lives out there on a daily
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: basis with families. So it's just so wonderful. I did
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: want to talk about because we teased it a little
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: bit earlier in our conversation about being funded and put
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: people getting involved. And you've got many ways that people
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: can do that, so can you talk about those we
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: do well.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: First of all, we have about two.
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: Hundred and eighty five volunteers throughout our region and they
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: play an incredibly important role in our organization. We have
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: a small staff, we have a lean staff. We can't, unfortunately,
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: go out and meet with every Wish child, every Wish
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: family and be with them on a regular basis throughout
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: the Wish experience, so we rely on volunteers to do that,
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: and we are always looking for more special people who
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: want to be our ambassadors and our face to face
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: conduits with these beautiful families.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: We're also always really in need.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: Of volunteers who are bilingual in any language. We live
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: in such a cosmopolitan area We have volunteer needs for
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: just about every language you can imagine, So that's.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: One way that we really really need the public's help. Secondly,
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: our goal is to become a.
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: Ten million dollar annual organization so that no child has
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: to wait for their wish due to financial constraints. So
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: we look to the community corporations, individual philanthropists, foundations to
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: support our mission, and they can do that in a
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: number of ways as well, whether it's attending one of
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: our signature events like our upcoming Ladies Lunch or our
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: Northern Virginia Golf Tournament in June, or adopting a wish
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: or simply making a monthly contribution instead of buying a
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: cup cup of Starbucks every day, you know, give thirty
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: dollars to make a wish every month. All of it
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: adds up and helps us grant wishes to children right
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: here in our community.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: And I imagine for anybody that's listing that has a small, medium,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: large business, or is maybe a signature person in the DMV,
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: you would love to hear from them. Correct, We would
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: love to hear from you.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: It's all on our website too, all right, mid Atlantic
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: dot Wish dot.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: Org and there's a big red button that says donate now,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: so don't miss that.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Donate now, and also volunteer.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Now, don't skip that now. I do want to talk
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: about some events that might be coming up before the
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: end of twenty twenty six. But between the Wish Ball,
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: your lunch and you've raised a lot of money. I
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: mean the gala one point six million dollars six. When
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: I saw that figure, I said, you know, it doesn't
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: matter what you did, and I imagine it was an
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: amazing evening because I'm looking at the pictures and it
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: looks gorgeous. That's a lot of money. I don't know
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: if that is a record, but extraordinary and curdiser win,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: your team and the people that attended.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: My gosh, it was a record.
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: Just five years ago we were a little more than
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: half that, so we have really grown and expanded, really
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: thanks to our volunteers. This year we had two former
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: Capitals players as co chairs, Carl Alzner and Branden Holty.
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: We had Michael and Tally Cohen as well as one
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: of our wish families. We always have a wish family
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: as a co chair and you know, they just guide
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: us in the vision. But they're also out there promoting
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: the event and helping us secure sponsorships.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: So it was a beautiful night, very inspiring. We told
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: Zachary's wish story.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: He was on stage with us as well as four
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: other Wish kids.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: And Tommy McFly and had.
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: A whole lot of hockey players in the house and
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: it was just a great evening.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: And then what people don't know is that Leslie and
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: their team the day they wake up have to plan
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: for next year's Wish Bawl.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: We already have the date on the calendar, so yes,
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: but no, it's not even that. As we get up
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: and at the end of April, we'll have our women's
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: Lunch at the Salamander in Washington, DC. We've got an
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: amazing guest speaker this year, Sheila Johnson.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: We're really excited to have that for with us.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: And gentlemen are allowed, but it is a room full
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: of principally female power, which I love.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Well, that's wonderful. Anything else coming up before the end
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of twenty twenty six that you want to hit just
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: to get on people's radar, Yeah.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: We also do two golf tournaments, one in Northern Virginia
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: in June and then one up at Baltimore in October
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: on Columbus Day weekend. And again all this information can
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: be found at our website MIDA Atlantic dot wish dot org.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: Something I want to talk to you before I let
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: you go, Leslie, and I know that we're just talking
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: in general terms when we had this kind of conversation
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: about what make a Wish does and makes families and
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: especially the child that's like feel and we talked with
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Emily about this that you know, these make a Wish
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: things are sometimes the best medicine when you talk about
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: the heart and the mind, when kids are medicated and
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: they're going through illness. You know, I think it's really
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: ups exceptional about what could happen. And as you get
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: to talk to these children and especially the families, it
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter what the wish is. The feedback that I
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: imagine you get is pretty extraordinary to the difference that
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: is being made by the wish being executed that you
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: really cannot put a price on, would I be correct.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: Exactly? And we've done a lot of research too.
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: It's not just hearing from families, but it's actual peer
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: reviewed research that shows that nine out of ten wish
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: parents say that the wish experience helped their family relieve
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: traumatic stress.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: Nine out of ten saw a noticeable.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: Improvement in their child's emotional well being after.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: Their wish eight out of ten.
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: It's a fantastic coping mechanism, and I can reel off
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: a whole host of stats, but it is It's something
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: that medicine can't provide. It's something that a doctor can't prescribe.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: It's that intangible feeling of hope and positivity that dramatically
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: improves physical, mental, and emotional well being.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: And I'm sure a lot of our listeners have done
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: this right now. I'm a parent and I've been doing it,
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: especially every time that I have a chance to visit
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: with you. Imagine your busy life, folks, no matter if
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: you have one child like I've had, or if you
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: have multiple children like Emily does. She's got three boys,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: and you've got life happening, You've got school, you've got
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: you know, car rights for sports and playdates, and then
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: you're busy and maybe two parents are working, or one
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: is working and one is working at home with the boy.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: It really doesn't matter. We have a busy life today.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: We just do now imagine having a sick child on
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: top of that and getting no sleep and the worry
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: is my child going to survive and all that comes
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: with that. That's the extraordinary stuff that we're talking about, Emily,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: about what is being put on parents now. And to
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: get that tiny little break from you and your team
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: and then the people that provide the wishes to get
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: them executed is on a whole other level of incredible
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: stuff that once again I said it before, you cannot
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: put a price on No, you can't.
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: I think you know.
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: One of the things that we as a society have
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: learned since COVID is kind of you know, the power
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: of community, the power of positivity, the power of hope.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: And that is exactly what a wish is. That's a
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: wish in a nutshell.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: All right, Before we let you go, I want to
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: get some final thoughts. Want to give the website at
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: least one more time and encourage people to donate, and
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: also that you know, if you want to do something
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: besides donating, to reach out to Leslie and her team
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: about you know that whether you have a business or
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: you want to make maybe a larger donation, or that
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: you have a connect to a celebrity or a cool
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: sporting event. It doesn't really matter what it is because
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: there's so many wishes to be granted out there that
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: I guarantee you that Leslie and her team will say,
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: we need to talk, So let's just get some final
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: thoughts from you and kind of recap everything. Leslie.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's right. You. Wishes are.
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: So fanciful and run the gamut from wanting a horse
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: to meeting a sports star to having a gaming computer,
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: you name it. There's a need for donations, there's a
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: need for volunteers, there's a need for help.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: As of today, there are.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: Four hundred and ninety two children who are somewhere along
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: the wish journey and we cannot grant all of their
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: wishes without the help of everybody listening and the people
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: who are their friends and their friends and their friends.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: So there is no way that you.
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: Cannot get involved that we don't need your help.
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: I know a lot of people once again know about
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: make a Wish and make a Wish mid Atlantic. But
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: if there is a doctor oute there, or a nurse
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: or a practitioner, and of course parents or caregivers out there,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: and they at least want to start the process once again.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: What do they need to do.
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: That's right, Well, they can call our number or the
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: best way to do it is to go to our
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: website wish dot org backslash refer a child.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Okay, very good. Well, listen, it's great to talk to
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: you again and catch up on everything. I know that
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: it's tireless of what you and your team do. It
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: was great to visit with Emily. I'm glad that Zachary
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: not only got his wish as a zookeeper hanging out
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: with armadillos and that he's better. That's really extraordinary. It's
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: just one of just a handful of stories that you
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: get to live every week, and I think it's so cool.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, your listeners need to go onto your website and
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: look at a little picture of Zachary because he's the
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: one we have and he's got his zookeeper uniform and
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: he's got that armadillo and it will melt your heart.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: I love it. Well, listen, Leslie, thank you so much
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: for joining us again at Community DC. Get my best
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: to everybody there and we'll talk to you very soon.
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: Thank you for always supporting us.
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