Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee

October 1, 2018

Dear Car Donation Foundation,

I would like to thank you for your thoughtful contribution to Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee. Your gift of $4,006.13 was received on September 24, 2018 and will help make wishes come true for Middle Tennessee children who face critical illnesses.

For seriously ill children, the wonder and delight of childhood can seem lost in routines of doctors, hospitals, and pain. But we can turn that around, helping children think beyond the experience of illness by bringing their most heartfelt wish to life. A wish gives children renewed energy and strength, brings families closer together and unites communities. When a wish is granted, a child replaces fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope.

Lily, 10, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and underwent months of treatment in the hospital. One of the few things that could take her mind off of everything was watching her favorite show Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team. When she was given the gift of a wish, she chose to meet the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. For the first time, she realized a wish had power. While on her wish, she didn’t feel as sick and let herself try some “normal” things that she hadn’t done in a while. When she got home she still had more treatment ahead of her, but because of her wish she knew that she could and would feel normal again! Since Lily’s wish she has volunteered as a youth ambassador for Make-A-Wish, spoken at events and even emceed our gala! Each time she gets the chance to tell her wish story, she says that she gains a little more power back from the disease that took so much from her. Lily ends her talk by saying that cancer will always be part of her story, but because of a wish, it isn’t her whole story.

There are few experience more powerful than making a wish come true. Thanks to your support, we are one step closer to creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Sincerely,

Beth Torres

President and CEO