Dorothy Walton proudly wears a shirt embroidered with a wishbone and the words Make-A-Wish above it. Ten years ago, this mother of six and grandmother of 16 signed on as a volunteer with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a national organization that grants wishes for children 2 1/2 to 18 suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
After a friend’s death, the Oak Lawn resident received a memorial card requesting donations be made to the Make-A-Wish foundation, then came across a newspaper article about the charity. Impressed with what she learned, she contacted the group; now Walton, 70, interviews children with life-threatening illnesses in the first step toward making their wishes come true.
The process starts with a referral and application from a doctor, nurse, teacher, minister or neighbor. If the request is approved by the foundation office, Walton and her partner, Denise Scourtes of Palos Hills, call on the family of the child who has been referred, a visit usually held around the kitchen table. Scourtes, who has been a Make-A-Wish volunteer and Walton’s partner for eight years, says she and Walton both feel they get more from the experience than they ever give.
They bring presents for all the children in the family, handing them first to the siblings of the sick child, who are often left in the background as the family copes with the needs of their seriously ill child, Walton explained.
Walton said she sometimes feels like a detective as she employs key phrases to elicit honest answers from children. The child is interviewed privately to confirm that the wish really belongs to the child; well-meaning adults might think they know what the child wants but miss the mark, she said.
On her next visit, Walton brings the news that the wish has been granted. (To date, only kids whose wishes have been granted by other organizations have been turned down.)
The most frequently requested wish, she said, is a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. To pull that off, she gets available dates from the family, then arranges limo rides to the airport and airline tickets (sometimes through donated frequent flyer miles, other times provided by the airlines; the foundation rarely pays for tickets, she explained). Disney takes care of the accommodations, meals and admissions. A week before departure, she delivers the tickets, a backpack and treats for the airplane.
“Seeing them off is most exciting,” she said.
The second most popular wish is a meeting with Michael Jordan. At present, 40 children nationally and internationally have scheduled meetings with him.
Before her first child took off on a January trip to Disney World, Walton said she didn’t sleep for two weeks, worrying about all the details she was responsible for. The child had asked her, “What will happen if it snows and we can’t go?” She assured him it would not snow. And it didn’t.
Walton’s photo album is filled with pictures of children whose wishes she watched came true. “To see the look in the child’s eyes and the family’s eyes when a wish is granted, that’s the reward,” she said.
One of Walton’s Make-A-Wish children is 8-year-old Joey LePage, who suffers from leukemia. He lives in Bridgeview with his mother, father and younger brother, who accompanied him on his recent trip to Disney World.
“Make-A-Wish is the best,” he says. “It’s like a present, except it’s bigger.”
His advice to other children is, “If you don’t want to go to Disney World and you are a boy, ask to meet Michael Jordan.”
Joey talks about another Make-A-Wish trip, this one a make-believe jaunt to the North Pole taken last year by Make-A-Wish children from all over the area. American Airlines one year provided a simulated trip on a military plane without windows at O’Hare International Airport. The children “disembarked” to see Santa’s workshop and meet Mrs. Claus.
According to Linda Parck, director of corporate and community relations at the Chicago metropolitan area office of Make-A-Wish, her office has granted 2,000 wishes since it opened in 1985.
The Chicago office, one of 82 chapters nationwide, covers 24 counties with 11 full-time and two part-time staff members and about 300 volunteers. The office granted 24 wishes its first year; last year it filled 300.
Tina Green Rounds is volunteer coordinator for the organization. She explains that potential volunteers go through an application and interview process; they’re looking for people with project-managing and good communication skills. Of Dorothy Walton, Rounds said, “She really, really cares about the children. She bakes them cookies and makes crafts for them. She is a good representative for our organization.”
Walton is seeking fellow volunteers in the southwest metropolitan area. Hope Children’s Hospital, on the campus of Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, is sending referrals, and people are needed to help fill wishes.
Volunteer jobs range from being a wish granter to decorating caps for children whose wishes are being granted to dressing dolls or teddy bears given to children on the first visit. The organization is also always looking for people who can donate McDonald’s coupons or frequent-flyer miles.
“I would like to encourage people how to volunteer and about the different techniques used,” Walton said. “Volunteers are frightened and overwhelmed; they run into obstacles, but they can be overcome.”
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To contact the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, call 1-800-722-9474, or visit the group’s Internet site at www.wish.org.
