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YOUR DONATIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF TWO NEW JERSEY CHILDREN

Whippany, NJ (January 22, 2009) On behalf of our families and most importantly, the wish children, I would like to thank you for supporting the 1st Annual Casino Night Fundraiser to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. Gifts from your efforts have adopted the wishes of the children as part of our Adopt-A-Wish program.

Four year old Joshua loves to listen to his favorite singer, Sheryl Crowe, watch the Jets, shop at Toys “R” Us and play with his trucks. What separates Joshua from other little boys his age is that he has undergone a Multi-Visceral Transplant, an operation in which multiple organs are transplanted, such as the stomach, pancreas, liver and small intestine. When Make-A-Wish volunteers visited with Joshua and his family to ask him the magical question “If you had one wish, what would it be?” Joshua decided that a trip to Disney World would be just what the doctor ordered! Joshua’s wish will come true this spring when he and his family will be picked up in a limousine and taken the airport in style for his wish to the “happiest place on earth” to begin. While in Florida, the family will be staying at the Give Kids the World Village, a special area adjoining Disney World specifically reserved for wish children and their families. At the Village, wish children like Joshua are treated to around the clock ice cream service, pools and a water park, the Castle of Miracles, and characters who even read them bedtime stories. Joshua will receive park hopper passes to “hop” in between the Disney theme parks as much as he wants in addition to passes to visit Universal Studios and Sea World. During his time in the theme parks, Joshua will also be able to wear a special button that will allow him and his family to go straight to the front of the line at all the rides, shows, character meet-and-greets and other park attractions. Since this will be Joshua’s first trip to Disney World, what a great way to see as much of the park as he can during his wish trip!

Anthony is an eight year old young man, who has been diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease, an inherited blood disorder that affects the red blood cells. For his one memorable wish, Anthony told Make-A-Wish volunteers that he wanted to receive a laptop computer “with hardware that lets the computer be like a Playstation 3!” Anthony chose this wish because he loves to play computer games (and oh yeah, would also like to do his homework with it). Anthony’s spectacular wish came true when a Dell gaming laptop computer was delivered to his home and was waiting for him one day after school. The computer came equipped with an extra battery and carrying case (so he can take it with him to the hospital for treatments), mouse, printer and joysticks, as well as a brand new desk and chair! Some of Anthony’s favorite games, such as Madden ’09, Tony Hawk and Homecourt Basketball, were also purchased by Make-A-Wish so he could play after all of his homework was done! When he’s not playing video games, Anthony loves to play baseball, eat at his uncle’s restaurant, and listen to Hip-Hop music.

The simple question, “If you had one wish, what would it be?” has been translated into wishes for over 5,700 children throughout New Jersey in the last 25 years. Last year, we granted 471 unique, special and magical wishes such as the wish of a little boy to visit the extended family he’s never met in Poland, or the wish of a teenage girl to go on a shopping spree as she prepared to return to school following a prolonged absence. One young lady wished to meet her favorite singer and her wish came true when he not only sat down to speak with her, but also asked her to join him on stage for an encore. Many more magical wishes to Disney World were also granted and made countless little girls and boys feel like princesses and superheroes- feelings their illnesses have temporarily taken away.

Research has shown us that roughly 800 children are diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition annually in the state of New Jersey. Each year, we strive to identify an ever-increasing number of these children whose hospital visits, treatments and overall outlook on their illness has the potential to be more positive after that one memorable wish has been granted.

In our 25-year history, no wish-eligible child has ever been turned down because of a lack of funding and that’s because we have caring donors like you, and those who attended the Casino Night, who have helped make these wishes come true. Once again, thank you for helping us restore hope, strength and joy to Joshua’s and Anthony’s lives, and the lives of their families, and for sharing the power of a wish®! Sincerely,

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