'Hope is a game changer': Make-A-Wish Wisconsin celebrates 40 years, nearly 8,000 wishes granted

 

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Nearly 500 children are diagnosed with a critical illness each year in Wisconsin, and one organization has dedicated 40 years to helping them and their families while spreading messages of hope and inspiration.

Since 1984, Make-A-Wish Wisconsin has granted thousands of wishes to eligible kids across the state, starting with an 11-year-old girl named Catina who wanted to meet Michael Jackson.

And while she's since passed on after an accident several years ago, her memory is honored with a picture and plaque inside of the organization's office in Wauwatosa -- a reminder of where they started and how many people they've helped since. 

“A wish is a turning point in a child’s life," said Forrest Doolen, the senior director of marketing and communications for Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. “Oftentimes, a child will start to make a shift in their medical treatments because they have that hope that they need.”

And while hope isn't something a doctor can directly prescribe, “They can prescribe a wish because they know that that will give that hope," Doolen told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White.

This year, Make-A-Wish Wisconsin is budgeted to grant a record-breaking 405 wishes.

“There’s only 28 of us around the state, but we work with 450 volunteers, we work with thousands of donors, we work with hundreds of medical professionals," Doolen said. "It takes that whole community.”

One of those volunteers is Linda Ryfinski, who has worked as a "wish granter" since 2001, helping with more than 100 wishes in those two decades.

“In 2021, I was privileged to be honored as the Make-A-Wish volunteer of the year for the entire state," Ryfinski said. 

Some of her favorite memories include working with a little boy named Jackson.

“I would nudge him and say, 'okay Jackson, you want a girlfriend for 10 minutes?'" Ryfinski said laughingly. "[He'd say] 'no, no, I wanna go to Disney!'"

Another was when she walked into the office on one of her volunteer days and was immediately greeted with a familiar face.

“We have interns who come in from colleges, and I look at this young lady -- I was her wish granter 15 years before!" Ryfinski said.

This February, Make-A-Wish Wisconsin will grant its 8,000th wish to a little girl who dreams of singing with the Milwaukee County Symphony. 

“There’s a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety, and then hope comes into the picture through a wish," Doolen said. "Hope is a game changer."