This holiday season, the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Grand Rapids North, Michigan remembered that it’s better to give than to receive. So they decided to put that perspective to work and set out to make a difference. They stumbled upon Macy’s and discovered that they had partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation this year in collaboration with their annual Letters to Santa efforts. For every letter written to Santa and turned in to the Macy’s mailbox, they donate a dollar to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Their goal every year is to hit over a million letters.
At Grand Rapids North, the staff, faculty, and students know that people’s dreams and wishes are important. So they decided that they would love to be a part of making someone’s wish come true. The campus set their goal to write 500 letters, And with that number set, they matched it in just a few weeks. So they decided if they can hit 500 so quickly, they should be able to make it to 1000!
Some of the life-changing wishes for the children with illnesses that are critical have changed lives and inspire them to keep on keeping on. It keeps hope, faith, and determination in full swing. With children having illnesses, wishes keep them positive and knowing that there are ways to look past the limitations that have been set before them. Looking forward to their wish being answered also often helps with the anxiety that they are feeling. But the most important thing is that having a wish improves a child’s quality of life, letting them still be children.
Make-A-Wish is on an amazing mission to grant the wish of every child who is eligible. Children need a wish to give them hope, strength, and courage to help with the healing. With the support of Ross in Grand Rapids North, a a local daycare, local schools, an ambulance company, and Macy’s, Make-A-Wish was able to reach more kids and make that wish something to remember.
The Grand Rapids North campus passed their goal of 1000 Letters to Santa. They ended up having 1060 Letters turned into the front desk and Santa got them on December 24th! The campus is so thankful to all that helped for playing a small part and making a huge difference. As of late december, Make-A-Wish said that their letter count so far was over a million letters and they were still counting. If you want to help please visit: wish.org.