Make-A-Wish Wisconsin celebrates 500th wish, 10th regional office anniversary

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A major milestone was reached for Make-A-Wish Wisconsin Tuesday night. Madison’s regional office celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reveal of the 500th wish granted in the Madison area.

The event’s recipient is three-year-old Gracie who is living with lymphoblastic leukemia. One goal was to make a dream of hers come true.

In the late evening, a pontoon pulled up to this dock to surprise the three-year-old. Families, volunteers and organizers helped the family ring in the moment.

“They are ecstatic, they are joyful. There are 200 people here tonight so that is a little nerve-wracking and we are all working together with them,” Madison Make-A-Wish Regional Director Carol McChesney Johnson said. “They are a lovely family and we are thrilled they accepted the challenge of being here tonight as we accept this 500th wish.”

A current volunteer and former Make-A-Wish Recipient Torrey Calkins says she values the organization. When she was 12, she got a chance to be in a Transformers movie.

“I got to meet a lot of the actors,” she said. “I had my own wardrobe, hair and makeup, all that stuff. It was an experience I’ll never forget which made me want to turn around and be a wish granter myself.”

She says it feels good to help families like Gracie’s.

“At the time I didn’t know what the wish granters put into it. Now being on this end, it is really rewarding to see all of the kids happy and the families happy,” Calkins said.

Dana Hellgren’s family came to support after her daughter was granted a wish almost a year ago.

“She was born with a rare liver condition called biliary atresia,” Hellgren said. “She ended up having a transplant here in Madison when she was six months old. The first couple of years as you can imagine were pretty tumultuous for us.”

Hellgren says her daughter also received a pontoon which gave them more time to be together as a family.

“I think our Make-A-Wish experience after all that we have been through has been this first real glimmer of just pure joy,” Hellgren said.

Gracie’s family declined to speak Tuesday night but they mingled with other Make-A-Wish families and spent time with each other.

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