I was so nervous to start this internship, but I've made it through the first week and I actually really enjoyed it. It's more of a stressful job than I thought it'd be, but I still feel like I'm doing something worthwhile so that makes the stress worth it too.
My first two assignments were to work on a Wish Story for a 7-year-old boy named Austin. Austin has Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, which is a degenerative muscular disorder. But he wished to go to Disney World and the other resorts around there so he could meet his two favorite characters: Stitch and Spiderman! His mom says that Austin doesn't smile much, but he was "beaming from ear to ear" during much of his trip. It's so gratifying to see the effect that these wishes have on these sweet children and their families.
My second assignment was to coordinate and set up a time to shoot a Power of a Wish story for ABC 4 news. This is a feature that airs the second Saturday of every month at 6 am (Early, I know, but if you can, try to watch it. I know you'll love it!) and highlights a child that has recently been granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah. The little girl that we chose to feature this month is Megan. She's a shy little girl (I think she's about 4 or 5) and she wished to have - like so many little girls wish - to have her own pony. So, at our last gala, Make-A-Wish presented Megan with her own pony along with free stabling, feed, and riding lessons for a year. Megan's mom says that Megan goes riding almost every day and it really brings out the best in Megan.
Sadly, I won't be there to see the feature being shot, but I'm gonna try to catch it on TV and I hope you do too!
I've been learning more about the process that the kids go through when they make a wish.
First, they are recommended to Make-A-Wish by their mom or day, a physician or social worker, or they can refer themselves. If they're chosen (based on Make-A-Wish eligibility rules) they receive a paper castle turret in the mail that has a message to them to come to A Wishing Place. There is also a key in the turret, which they are told will open a special door the A Wishing Place.
The Make-A-Wish that I work for is very unique. We were the first place to build A Wishing Place, and there is only one other place like ours in the nation. For most other states, the wish granters go to the child's home or the hospital. But we wanted our wish granting process to be more magical.
So the kid comes to the Wishing Place and they are taken upstairs where they play the Wish Granting Game. It's kind of like CandyLand and it helps the child decide what they want to wish for.
After they've decided on a wish, they write down their wish and put it in this golden tube so they can submit it to the Wish Wizard. Then they take the tube and their magic key and walk across the bridge into the Wishing Tower. This room is amazing! When you first walk it, it's all lit up with the child's favorite color, then the family goes in and shuts the door and the walls and floor of the room start to change colors and there's soothing music in the background. There's also a waterfall in the tower room.
In this room, the family circles around and tells the child what they would wish for him/her. Like, many moms wish for their child to not be in anymore pain during their treatments. They don't want to give their child false hope, but they do want to give their child hope.
The child is then told to follow the blue lights that light up in the floor. These lights take the wish kid behind the waterfall where they are told to put the gold tube in the golden cone. They then continue to follow the blue lights to this gold volcano looking thing in the middle of the room. This is where they submit their wish to the Wish Wizard.
Then this is where the magic truly begins. Soon everyone is working as hard as they can to make this wish come true and make everything about the wish perfect! I'm so grateful to be a part of this. I can't wait to learn more!!!
