Make-A-Wish Foundation marks 20 years in Utah

What is it about wishes and dreams that sustains the human soul?

What is it about possibilities that captivate the heart?

What is it about a wish fulfilled that sends a burst of joy through the being, as Albert Einstein said, "like a flaming firebrand flung into the gathering darkness of the world?"

Whatever it is, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah experiences it in rich abundance.

"To dream, to hope, to wish is a part of every culture," says Christine Sharer, CEO of the foundation. "Something about it resonates with humans everywhere. We simply remind people that no matter what, they can keep doing it."

This year the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The Utah chapter has been going strong for 20 years. Since 1985, the local group has granted about 1,600 wishes, says Sharer. Last year, they fulfilled the dreams of 135 children. "We now average about three wishes a week."

It began with a child named Chris, who lived in Arizona. Chris wanted to be a policeman — but he had childhood leukemia, and his health was declining. Friends and neighbors got together and arranged for him to get a miniature uniform and badge; they swore him in as the first and only state trooper in the state. They took him on a helicopter ride. "Chris died three days later," explains Sharer, "and his story got broadcast in all the media. People started thinking they would like to do something like that in their own communities. It really started as a grass-roots effort." Make-A-Wish was born.

The first wish granted in Utah was actually for a girl who lived in Florida. Her best friend moved to Park City, and she wanted to come and play in the snow. Later, a boy in the Midwest wanted to celebrate Christmas in July. "Where could he find snow at that time of year? In the high Uintas," says Sharer. "He knew he was not going to live to Christmas, but he wanted to have one last holiday. He and his family were brought to a cabin here. They celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday and Christmas on the weekend."

Those experiences, she says, "inspired the Utah chapter to get going." At first, it was an all-volunteer organization, says Sharer, who has been with it from the beginning. "That first year, we granted five wishes."