For the last few years, my friends Tom and Trey have been taking part in the Make A Wish foundation’s annual
Wish-A-Mile (WAM) bicycle tour fundraiser. They collect pledges, peddle their bikes some 300 miles, and then hand the cash over to the folks at the Make A Wish Foundation, so that they can can continue their incredible work with children suffering from life-threatening conditions. And, tomorrow night (Saturday, May 28) there will be an event here in Ypsi to raise money for their ride. Here’s the info:
MUSIC – – – BEER – – – FOOD !!!
MAKE-A-WISH FUNDRAISER PARTY
Once again, a fun-filled evening is on tap! This year, we will have music by a local Bluegrass band, Wayward Roots. Two kinds of beer from the Corner Brewery will be available, as well as a fire, hotdogs, marshmallows, and other tasty treats.
Come on by for the Make-A-Wish fundraising party and toast Tom and Trey as they prepare for another Wish-A-Mile 300 ride. Toast Alan the bass-player of Wayward Roots who is riding the WAM as well.
This Memorial weekend can start with fun and fundraising for a great cause !!
Location: 1110 Sweet Road (near Prospect and Holmes)
Date: Saturday, 5/28/11
Time: 6 pm the beer and food is ready… 8pm the Music!$20 entry for music, food, and beer and fun !! (You can always donate more…)
Bring your friends, the more the merrier!
If you can’t make the party, you still donate here.
When I asked Tom for details about the ride, and whether or not the money they raised would be going toward the granting of a wish for one specific kid, he responded with the following.
Each year, Make A Wish of Michigan grants about 300 wishes on the basis of the money earned from this ride. Many of the riders are family members of former wish kids who feel personally compelled to “pay back”. One entire team is founded around a young girl (Alex) who died shortly after her wish was given. They have been riding for almost 15 years. So, in general, we all ride for the mission of the whole organization, not one specific kid. Some teams are around the memory of a kid, some not. Trey and I just support the whole idea.
I like the idea that MAW helps create a memory. What do you remember growing up? That is positive? I remember taking walks with my dad. I remember some family vacations. I remember happy moments. Fortunately, I don’t have to filter out hospitals, illness, pain. I didn’t spend my youth in a hospital, in bed, or in a wheelchair.
MAW gives not just the kid a wish, but the whole family is involved in the event. A memory is created, a positive, happy occasion, a break from the routine of hospitals, tests, surgeries, chemotherapy, and the like. The family and their child receive a moment of hope, a time with joy, and hopefully the strength to continue. I think it works. At the ride and after, I see how the families there respond, and how very grateful they are to Make A Wish. I see riders who come back each year, dedicated to help, because their brother, co-worker, or friend had a kid with some life-threatening disease. They were impacted by the child, their life, and their wish event. The actual wish is less essential than the fact the Make A Wish makes it such an big event, so nice and so fun that the family has a positive, memorable time to recall. Even if they lose their child, they have something other than sickness and hospitals in their memory. They have some nice moment shared, where they can recall a time of happiness.
More information on the kids helped by Make A Wish, and the wishes that have been enabled in the past, can be found here.
[See also: Make A Wish Michigan’s Charity Navigator ranking]