2011 annual report - Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County ...

from the ceo
dear friends,
Last year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County
and the Inland Empire granted 300 wishes for children with
life-threatening medical conditions. As a matter of fact, we
were able to grant each and every wish that was requested
– a remarkable accomplishment!
This was possible because of all of you who supported our
efforts to bring hope, strength and joy to the 300 deserving
wish families we had the opportunity to help this past year.
Recent research has shown there are many deserving children
eligible for a wish in Orange County and the Inland Empire
who we have yet to reach. In response to this information,
we will increase our focus this year in two areas – increasing
our wishes and raising the dollars to meet the cost of those
wishes.
A wish is a very powerful tool. Whether it is for a few hours, a
day or a week, a wish for our children means, for that special
moment in time, the ability to get away from the stress of their
condition, the stress of treatment and to escape the obstacles
the family often faces day to day in dealing with the child’s
illness. It allows them time to relax, enjoy and experience the
reality of having the child’s wish come true!
I have witnessed this first-hand since coming to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation this past September. As we end a
successful year of wishes and move into a more challenging
2012 of wish granting, I want to thank you for your incredible
support and invite you to join us again this year as we raise the bar to grant 325-plus wishes!
I leave you with one of the first thoughts I had after attending my very first wish. Never underestimate the power
of the smile of a wish child – it truly is life-transformational!
Thank you again for a great 2011 and for helping to share the power of a wish ®
Best Wishes,
Stephanie McCormick
President & CEO
savannah, age 3
I wish to have a Pixie party
Mira Loma, Germ Cell Tumor
Adopted by Konica Minolta Business Solutions
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