BY MARY BAUER

Pioneer Press

Life has not been kind to Zachary Rains. At age 13, he has already lost his biological father, a foster father and an adoptive father to premature deaths. A year ago, he was diagnosed with a rare connective tissue disorder, which, among other things, has enlarged his aorta where it connects to his heart.

He also has a form of hemophilia, which complicates the inevitable surgeries. He and his mother relocated from Pine City to St. Anthony Village to be closer to medical facilities.

And yet Zachary sees the humor in life. Specifically, he sees the humor in the comic strip Garfield.

"He's a smart-aleck — kind of like me," said Zachary, who owns Garfield books, shirts, shorts and stuffed animals.

Today, Zachary and his mother are bound for Indiana to meet strip creator Jim Davis, courtesy of a new Minnesota charity that addresses the wants and desires of seriously ill children.

Wishes & More is the product of the mass defection from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota last October, when its entire board of directors and advisory board resigned.

The new group made its first grants in late March, making four to date, said president Karla Blomberg.

"It's about getting all the pieces together. You can't grant wishes without money, and you can't raise money until you get credibility in place," she said.

Blomberg knows about building reputations: She co-founded the state Make-A-Wish Foundation in 1982 and was its board president until October, which made the split all the more painful.

"I could leave the organization, but I couldn't leave the mission," Blomberg said.

Blomberg said she bears no ill will over the split. She and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota say there are plenty of wishes to go around.

This year, the state Make-A-Wish group that remains expects to grant more than 200 wishes.

Current Make-A-Wish leaders could not be reached for comment, but the group has hired a new executive director, its second in six months. Next Monday, Tom McKinney, executive director of the Northwest YMCA in New Hope, will replace Anne Harris, who has left the organization.

Blomberg's new group's direction reflects some of the philosophical differences board members cited when they split from Make-A-Wish. Hunting and fishing trips are expressly allowed, which was important to Zachary's mother, Holly Arnold-Rains.

She said she had already filed paperwork with Make-A-Wish but withdrew it during the controversy. Although her son's wish revolved around Garfield, he also likes to hunt and fish, and she sympathized with the departing board.

"They understood the culture of Minnesota kids, and they so heartily believed in their ethics," she said.

Wishes & More also addresses instances when a child dies before a wish is granted. In such cases, the family will receive money for a funeral or memorial. In the case of vacation trips, the wish will be granted for remaining siblings, Blomberg said.

Another feature will be $1,000 scholarships for post-high school education to each child to whom they grant a wish, Blomberg said.

The scholarships and memorials express a more comprehensive view of each child, she said. The message is that the wish group supports a family, whatever the outcome of a child's illness, she said.

So far, the new group has raised $200,000.

"We've had hundreds of people contacting us with their support," she said.

The group hopes to firm up its board of directors in the coming weeks, some of them former members of the Make-A-Wish board.

ONLINE

For more information, go to www.wishesnmore.org and www.wishmn.org

Mary Bauer can be reached at mbauer@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5311.