I’m generally bored by ESPN, except for when they do their Make-A-Wish series. That is the only time you will find this bookworm avidly watching football clips and sitting through Wimbleton recaps.
The first time I watched the Make-A-Wish series I burst into tears and cried to Ian for about an hour. It wasn’t out of pity, but out of an overwhelming appreciation that a huge name like ESPN supports such a great cause.
It could be a shameless marketing ploy and I WOULDN’T CARE; they make sure these kids get the best damn wish fulfillment possible.
I also adore every one of those athletes for being there and putting aside their personas and egos to make a 5-year-old boy with leukemia feel like a star for a day.
The ones who do even more than just the ESPN stories deserve every penny of their ludacris salaries, in my opinion.
Every year, no matter how broke I might be, I give Make-A-Wish $100. Years when I have more, I sometimes give double or triple that, and I hope that one day I can make enough money to be a sole sponsor for at least one kid’s wish a year.
The reason Make-A-Wish is near and dear to my heart, and to the hearts of many people back in my hometown of Latham, NY, is because they granted the wish of a gorgeous teenage girl named Kathleen, who left us at sixteen due to brain cancer.
Because of them, she was able to ride on a plane to the Bahamas, sit on a sunny beach, and swim with dolphins as her family watched.
Any organization that makes sure these kids get to swim with dolphins, go to Disneyworld, or – in the case of the ESPN wishes – meet entire football teams, is phenomenal. I love them for what they did for Kathleen, and I make sure I can always scrape together more than a couple of bucks to make sure they can keep making miracles happen.
So, this is my heartfelt thanks to the ESPNs and Make-A-Wishes of the world. Thank you for taking the money I donate and turning each dollar into a life-changing experience, and for being there for the kids too far away for me to reach otherwise.
If you’d like to donate to the Make-A-Wish foundation, their website is http://www.wish.org/. I’m not affiliated with them outside of my personal appreciation and support.
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