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Make-A-Wish Oklahoma
Make-A-Wish Oklahoma
Make-A-Wish is hoping for big things from next month’s Midwest LiftFest, sponsored by Vance Auto Group.
The relationship with Vance Auto Group resulted from some recent outreach that Boyle and Wolf have done around Logan County and the surrounding area. They had contacted several organizations and they hope to build some new long-term partnerships. “It is really exciting to get the new connections,” said Madison Boyle, Development Officer for Marketing and Events at Make-A-Wish.
Grace Wolf, Development Officer for Special Events and Annual Giving for the organization, is handling the LiftFest event, which she took over in May after Make-AWish Oklahoma completed some internal reorganization to find some new efficiencies. As a result, Wolf is now handling all external events for the organization. She’s coordinating regularly with the staff at Vance to make sure the event goes well.
Make-A-Wish’s mission statement says: “Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.” They fulfill that mission by granting wishes in five categories: going to a special location or event, receiving a specific special gift, being part of a particular profession or organization, meeting a special person, or giving something special to an important person or group.
Further, it isn’t simply the value of the gift itself that contributes most to the cost of granted wishes. Since the recipients are critically-ill children, there are significant health and safety concerns that must also be factored in. According to their collateral, Make-A-Wish solicits the expertise of pediatricians and pediatric specialists, as well as more than 200 chapter-specific medical advisors to make sure they can ensure that any children who receive a wish do so safely.
Wolf said that Vance is shooting for the Moon on this one. “Vance’s goal is to grant 10 Wishes, which is roughly $50,000,” Wolf said. “Many of our external events, like golf tournaments for example, might bring in $2,000 here, $3,000 there. So $50,000 is a huge impact for our organization.”
“We get so excited about any external events, when outside companies come to work with us,” said Boyle. “Vance reached out last year after another event. This is our first year working with [Vance Auto] and we’re really excited to be working with them.”
Wolf concurred: ““We’re super grateful for what they’re going to be doing, and it’s a really big impact. We’re a staff of 14 people but we serve the entire state. So we’re very appreciative of the hard work that they’re doing.”
Make-A-Wish Oklahoma was founded in 1982, and is one of 60 chapters across the United States. The organization has granted more than 3,600 wishes since its inception.