(Pictured from left: Ashley Orminston, Claire Aviles, and Chelsea Healey)
In the Jesuit tradition, students at Boston College are taught to be “men and women for others.” The motivated student body never fails to meet and exceed the unstated Jesuit “expectations”, as evidenced by the many volunteer groups on campus committed to making the world a better place. Thanks to seniors Chelsea Healey and Lauren Gray, another notable club joins the ranks this year as one of those outstanding groups and it is Wishmakers On Campus BC. Wishmakers is the first self-standing club on a college campus in Massachusetts linked to Make-A-Wish® Massachusetts-Rhode Island.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Make-A-Wish® is a non-profit organization that grants wishes for children between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 years old with life-threatening medical conditions with the goal of enriching the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. In it’s 26-year history, the organization has granted over 6,000 wishes for children in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. These wishes range from going to Disney Land to meeting role models and have a transformative and rejuvenating power for the children.
Both Chelsea and Lauren have had a passion for Make-A-Wish® since high school. Chelsea’s desire to support the organization came as a result of seeing the extraordinary benefits of a wish granted to a friend from high school with stage 4 Lymphoma. Lauren got involved with Make-A-Wish® as a result of hearing about it from one of her favorite high school teachers who’s daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia. Both girls were shocked that a club didn’t already exist on campus and decided to change that. After two years of hard work, they have finally turned their “wishful” thinking into a reality.
Typically, fundraising for Make-A-Wish® on college campuses is done through sororities or fraternities. But Healey and Gray didn’t think BC’s lack of Greek life should hold it back from contributing to such a great organization. What makes Wishmakers OnCampus BC different is that its’ sole mission is to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish® Massachusetts-Rhode Island through fundraising, educational, and training initiatives.
The CEO of Make-A-Wish® Massachusetts-Rhode Island, Charlotte Beattie, recognizes the extraordinary abilities of the BC student body to contribute to the organization and is “thrilled at the opportunity to work with the student body of Boston College as they raise awareness on campus of our organization’s mission and fundraise to sponsor a wish.” She also has high hopes for Wishmakers On Campus at BC to set an example for other universities and “serve as a movement for students across more college campuses to join together to make a difference” through self-standing Make-A-Wish® clubs.
Wishmakers started their very first fundraiser at the Student Activities Day with a kiddie pool of water and coins at the bottom encouraging students to throw in any change they can and “Make a Wish”. Chelsea enthusiastically explained the future plans of Wishmakers and what we can expect next, which includes a Powderpuff tournament in the works for November. Their goal for the year is to raise $7500, the average cost of a child’s wish. With over 315 new sign-ups, I’d say they are off to a great start.
Interested in getting involved? Just in case you missed their first meeting this past Monday 9/9, you can still check out their Twitter @WishmakersBC and Facebook www.facebook.com/WishmakersBC for more information.