This past week from Mar. 9 to Mar. 13, HSE Make A Wish hosted their annual bake sale week, bringing students together to raise money for children with critical illnesses. The fundraiser is one of the club’s biggest events of the year and helps contribute to the organization’s goal of granting life-changing wishes. Through donations and participation from students, the club is able to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation while spreading awareness throughout the school community. HSE Make-A-Wish senior president Liam Powers and Junior co-presidents Anissa Lammie and Callen Johnson share how the clubs’ impact has changed HSE.
The HSE Make-A-Wish Club has been a significant club at HSE since 2015 when Natalie and Claire Wilkinson started the club. Since then, the club’s impact at HSE has grown a substantial amount, expanding from around 100 members to over 200 students who help raise money and spread awareness.
“HSE Make-A-Wish Club was started 10 years ago by Natalie and Claire Wilkinson,” Powers shares. “Our club began with just 100 members and now is supported by over 200 members dedicated to fundraising and spreading awareness for the organization.”
The funds raised throughout the school year are donated to the Midwest Regional Make-A-Wish Foundation to help grant wishes for children facing critical illnesses.
“The money that is collected throughout the school year is donated to the Midwest Regional Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Powers explains. “Which usually grant about 1-1.5 wishes.”
While the club does not know exactly which children receive their donations for privacy reasons, the funds contribute to fulfilling meaningful wishes for kids around the country.
“We aren’t able to know exactly what wishes our money goes to for privacy reasons,” Johnson tells us. “But some popular wishes are to travel to new places, swim with dolphins, meet celebrities, etc.”
Future co-president Anissa Lammie said participating in the club is meaningful because it allows students to give back and support children facing difficult circumstances.
“Make-A-Wish is important for our school community because it’s raising money for a good cause,” Lammie said. “It’s important that our school tries to give back to our community and help kids in unfair circumstances and give them some hope.”
Through events like bake sale week, the club continues to raise thousands of dollars each year, helping grant wishes that create memorable experiences for children and their families. Club leaders hope students who participate will recognize the impact their efforts have on others.
“I hope that students who are participating in Make-a-Wish club take away the feeling that what they did actually made a huge difference in someone else’s life” Johnson said. “Just from the work that they’ve done in the club.”
Club leaders also impassive the positive effect that supporting the club has on the outside world.
“Supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation allows student members to help with our philanthropic contribution to the community,” Powers said. “It spreads the positive and dedicated meaning of the foundation while making a real difference for the lives of children and families going through difficult times.”
While the bake sale week has come to an end, leaders of the Make-A-Wish Club encourage students to keep supporting the fundraiser and help bring hope and joy to children who need it most.
