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Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish® Honors
Supporting “Heroes” at Annual Meeting
03 October 2007 – The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation® honored eleven “heroes” at its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, September 25, 2007. These corporations, groups and individuals have shown extraordinary support of the organization over the past fiscal year. The heroes are selected based on their contributions of cash or in-kind goods and services, but are generally not acknowledged in any other way publicly.
“It is the people and organizations that support Make-A-Wish in so many ways that truly make wishes come true,” said Patricia Wilson, Executive Director of the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation. “This year’s heroes range from a 14-year-old boy who gave over $9,000 from his Bar Mitzvah, when he asked for donations to our organization rather than presents, to a team of over seven businesses who spearheaded the planting of a ‘healing garden’ requested by a wish child in Piedmont. Honoring these people as Make-A-Wish heroes is one way we can acknowledge the incredible gifts they have made to our organization and the children we serve.”
This year’s Make-A-Wish heroes are:
· 13- year-old Sam Vogel, Mill Valley – raised over $2,600 by hosting a Skate-A-Thon which he is making an annual event.
· La Entrada School Student Council, Menlo Park – raised $3,135 from their Penny Week campaign.
· 14-year-old Sam Pritzker, San Francisco – raised $9,979 at his Bar Mitzvah by requesting that in lieu of gifts, donations be made to charity.
· Knuckles Historical Sports Bar Golf Tournament – the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport and the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf hosted their first tournament last year, which raised $20,000.
· ARCO am/pm – over 60 ARCO am/pm stores in the Bay Area sold wish stars at $1.00 each to raise over $21,000 in just one month.
· Standard Pacific Homes, Pleasanton – took the lead on modifying a bathroom to be wheelchair accessible for a wish child, resulting in contributions valued at over $28,000.
· Yahoo! Employee Foundation, Sunnyvale – awarded a $28,000 grant to fund computer wishes.
· ARGUS, LLC, San Francisco – a design firm that donated over $37,500 in in-kind services to produce the Foundation’s annual report.
· Vijay and Rekha Mallya, Sausalito – by donating auction lots and other items for wishes, the Mallya’s contributed over $40,000 in in-kind goods and services.
· Team Rebecca – seven businesses spearheaded the planting of a wish child’s “healing garden” and contributed over $73,000 in goods and services to this wish.
· Monterey Bay Gala Co-Chairs, Carmel – the 6th annual Monterey Bay Gala, held at Tehama Golf & Country Club, raised over $450,000.
About the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
In 2007, the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrates 23 years of fulfilling magical wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. One of the largest chapters nationwide, it has granted over 4,400 wishes in its 17 Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Marin, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Solano and Sonoma. The goal of the Foundation is to grant a wish to every eligible child in its territory. Anyone can refer a child for a wish. In 2005, the Chapter was recognized with a coveted “Best in America Seal of Excellence” award, the first Make-A-Wish Chapter to achieve this distinction for its outstanding management and governance practices. Of the 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States today, it is estimated that fewer than 50,000, or 5 percent, meet or exceed these standards, and, of those, fewer than 2,000 have been awarded this Seal. For more information or to refer a child for a wish, please call (800) 464-9474 or visit www.makewish.org.
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