Clinton kicker raising money for Make-A-Wish Mississippi

CLINTON, Miss. (WLBT) – Back in April, Clinton senior kicker Hayden Wolfe was watching the NFL Draft, when Kyle Stickles announced the New York Jets’ first-round pick, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I thought that was really cool.”

Seeing that inspired Wolfe, and he wanted to find a way to pair Make-A-Wish with kicking.

“It’s my senior year, I wanted to kind of go out with a bang,” Wolfe said. “I thought this would be really cool way, but I’m also big on community service and I thought this was also another really good way to get involved with that.”

So, Kick-A-Wish was born.

“The goal was to help two Mississippi kids in critical condition, to give them their dream,” Wolfe said.

Every Clinton game has a local business sponsor who will donate money to Make-A-Wish based on how Wolfe and the Arros special teams perform.

For every touchback, punt inside the 20-yard-line, punt of 50+ yards, and PAT, the sponsor donates $100 to Make-A-Wish, while field goals are worth $300.

“Week 1 we started off slow, that’s normal because it’s new, nobody really knows about it,” Wolfe said. “[Around week 3] it kind of got around and everybody starts hearing about it, it really started picking up pace.”

At home games, a video plays on the board to encourage fans to donate to the cause, and signs are posted around the field with QR codes to scan.

“I’ve seen many times first-hand the power of a wish, it’s amazing,” said Sally Walsh, who works with Make-A-Wish Mississippi. “Doctors tell us over and over what an amazing difference a wish makes in the recovery process for these sick children. So, it means a lot to have this fundraiser.”

Walsh hopes Wolfe’s Kick-A-Wish fundraiser will catch on in the state.

“I’m hoping that this is a model that we can carry on to other schools, to their football players, baseball, basketball, any students that might see this and think, ‘we can do this on our school,’” she said.

At the beginning of the year, Wolfe set a goal of raising $12,000, which is enough to fund two wishes for Mississippi kids. Coming into the weekend, Kick-A-Wish had raised more than half that goal.

“It’s a really awesome feeling,” Wolfe said. “I feel really supported throughout that. It’s crazy to think about; all these people are wanting to help me.”

“Seniors, we know how much they have on their plate. For him to take the time to do this, for Make-A-Wish, for these children, it says so much about him,” Walsh said. “Mainly, I just thank Hayden, his father, and anyone and everyone that’s been involved in this, because it’s taken, I’m sure, a tremendous amount of time and energy, and it’s just a wonderful program.”

To donate to Kick-A-Wish, click here.

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