Make-A-Wish Foundation active in Fayette County
Dana Antkowiak, community coordinator for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia, said from her office in Pittsburgh that the regional chapter is the most successful in the world in that it’s granted more wishes than any other chapter. “Since we started our mission in 1983, we’ve granted almost 9,000 wishes,” she said. “In fiscal year 2005, we granted 23 wishes in Fayette County alone.”
To be eligible to participate in the program, a child between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18 has to be diagnosed with a life-threatening condition that’s verifiable by a physician. As long as the doctor approves the wish and determines that it’s not putting the child’s life in peril, the wish is usually granted, although the local chapter does not provide international travel.
Most referrals are made by the child’s parents or the parents of former Make-A-Wish recipients. Referrals also are made by nurses, social workers or by the children themselves.
After a referral is made, the foundation assigns two volunteers to meet with the family and child to discuss the wish. The foundation also gets cost estimates from various vendors, but also looks for in-kind donations to keep costs down. In the case of 6-year-old Skyler Dillow of Smithfield, Aquadoc Pools of Irwin put in a 4-foot deep aboveground swimming pool.
Make-A-Wish’s most popular request is for a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and the foundation provides all costs for a week’s stay for the nuclear family (mother, father and siblings), including spending money. The next most-requested wishes are for gifts and shopping sprees. The average cost of a wish is $3,400, and wait time for wishes to be granted generally depends on weather conditions, paperwork, family readiness and the season.
“One of our most unusual requests was made by a child in Pittsburgh’s North Hills who wanted one of the 7-foot-tall fiberglass dinosaurs participating in the Carnegie Museum’s DinoMite Days,” said Antkowiak. “As a result, a Tyrannosaurus rex is now sitting in the back yard of the boy’s home.”
Another unusual request came from a boy in Altoona who wanted to help fight crime by becoming a Power Ranger for a day. Make-A-Wish made up a scenario in which the Altoona Curves minor league baseball team’s mascot had been kidnapped, and the boy was supposed to help find it.
“The 5-year-old believed everything that was going and eventually helped return the mascot to the team,” said Antkowiak.
For more information on the local Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter, call 1-800-676-WISH (9474) or visit the Web site www.wishgreaterpa.org.