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Friends of
Wishes & More
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Hecker Hosts Mini-Telethon
On Sunday, December 8th, Denny Hecker honored
Wishes & More®
by dedicating the entire hour of his radio program,
"Talk with Denny Hecker," to our organization. The goal was to raise
enough funds from listeners to grant a wish. Our president, Karla
Blomberg, was a guest of Barbara Jerich, Denny's co-host, throughout the
hour and Karla described the impact our mission has on families as well as
the children. Highlights of the hour included three special phone
interviews. The first was with 12 year old Cameron and he shared the
stories of his wish visiting the Big Apple and catching four Broadway
productions. Jani told about the special memories created when she and
her husband brought their children to Disney World for son, Luke's, wish.
Listeners were moved by her warm memories and the sadness of hearing of
their loss of Luke only weeks after returning from their trip. The
last guest was little, Tasiah. She was heading to Disney World the
following day and would celebrate her 4th birthday with her family in the
Magic Kingdom.
Thanks to those listed on the right for all of your
generous pledges!
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| Roger
Strodtman |
In memory of nephew Jacob who
passed away at 1. |
| Todd Rizner |
From Todd in memory of Dena &
Joshua. |
| Donna Rizner
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From Donna in memory of Dena &
Joshua. |
| Cathy Petros |
In Memory of grandfather Eddie from
Chris & Cory Petros. |
| Jerry Young |
Denny Hecker's GMAC Real Estate. |
| Jerry Young |
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| Stewart
Almaet |
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| Mary Jane
Wells |
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| Phil Jenkins |
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| Robert &
April Kalman |
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| Jeff Young |
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| Brendan
Kearin |
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| Will Plummer |
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| Humphrey
Family |
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| Michael
Loscheidei |
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| Dale Ring |
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| Sue Miller &
Family |
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| Mike Ellis |
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| Barbara
Jerich |
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The Agre’s do it
again!
Two years ago, Mata, Joe and Allison wanted to help
children who didn’t have as much as they did. (See their story below) For
their birthdays, instead of asking for clothes, their favorite CD, or a
Nintendo Wii, the kids asked that donations be made to
Wishes & More
to help underwrite a wish. We were blown away by the generosity of such
caring kids.
This past September, they have once again outdone
themselves. Mata, with the help of her family and friends and about 50 of
her closest supporters, hosted a small run in her neighborhood. What became
known as the Charity Fun Run/Walk on Sept 29th, 2007 raised over $540
dollars.
Thanks again to all involved and thank you to Mata, for
bringing Wishes & More
to the neighborhood.
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Select Comfort conducted a Mini DREAMSTAKES contest and asked their
employees to send in their dream. The contest rules were simple:
describe your day dream or what you dream about. Our volunteer,
Quang Nguyen, is a humble young man who counts his own blessings and,
true to form, he submitted an entry that considered giving rather than
receiving.
Quang’s
winning entry has become a gift to
Wishes & More:
“I could dream about a new car, new
bike, or meeting someone special, but if I had a “practical” and
realistic dream, it would be to make someone else’s dream come true –
especially those people who could use it the most. I volunteer for
Wishes & More
and it’s such a joy to see the look on a
child’s face to see that their dream comes true. Of course most kids
dream about going to Disney World, but they might also have other
smaller dreams – new computer, new bike, etc. These kids are facing a
life–threatening condition, and I get such joy in fulfilling a part of
their dream.
Seeing how I am an
avid bicyclist, I would love to give a new bike to a child for my
charitable organization,
Wishes & More.”
We are honored to be
the recipient of Quang's generosity and Select Comfort’s thoughtful
employee promotion.
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Mata, Joe, and Allison
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Kids Dedicate Their Birthdays
In Support of Wishes & More
Imagine a birthday party with no presents. The only gifts are
donations benefiting Minnesota children suffering from terminal and
life-threatening illnesses. When three children from Corcoran heard about
Wishes & More,
the siblings kindly dedicated their birthdays to the sake of another child.
Nine-year-old Joe Agre, and his 12-year-old sisters, Mata and Allison,
hosted a combined birthday party to raise wish money. They requested that
instead of presents, their friends bring donations supporting Minnesota’s
newest wish-granting organization. Steve and Carrie Agre immediately
supported their children’s unselfish birthday request.
“Our kids
have enough things,” Steve said. “We just asked each guest to bring a small
donation.”
Their
successful June 5th birthday bash was anything but ordinary; the
party was complete with everything from basketball tournaments, to soccer
games, to volleyball matches.
Forty-nine
children and at least 20 adult volunteers came together to raise almost $800
for Wishes & More!
“That was
the FUNNEST party ever!” Joe said the next day. “I’m glad we raised so much
money for those kids."
The family
is already thinking about making the party an annual event supporting
Wishes & More’s
mission. They might even add a dunk tank to the
excitement!
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Allie
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We
recently opened the mail to find a generous donation from another young lady
who made the decision to give rather than receive. Allie asked friends
to make a donation to
Wishes &
More
as they celebrated her birthday with her.
Karla
Blomberg called Allie to give her a personal thank you and Allie came in
from outside playing to take the call. When Karla asked her what prompted
her generosity, Allie replied,
“I
just heard about it and wanted to do it.” Simply stated. Allie loves
playing a lot of sports and activities and we love Allie.
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Mark
Webb, Karla Blomberg, and Carol Bistodeau thank Eli and
Grant Sontag for their donations. |
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Kids Donate Their Allowances to Wishes
& More
Eli and
Grant Sontag are no strangers to
Wishes & More;
Their mother, Cindy Sontag is the Vice President. The boys often hear
stories about wish children and others less fortunate than themselves, so it
was only natural for them to think of a way to help out.
Both Eli
and Grant showed up on the steps of
Wishes & More
to offer their allowance money. They have recently returned to donate
yet another portion of their allowance. What a wonderful gesture! |
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