Many people volunteer to help nonprofit organizations achieve their goals, but few have a volunteer job that allows them to make wishes come true.

Miranda Sepulveda, of Lewiston, and Kayt DeMerchant, of Turner, are “wish makers” for the Maine Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.  The goal of the organization, according to their mission statement, is to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy by surrounding the child with magical moments that touch everyone involved.

“I became involved in Make-A-Wish through a former wish child,” explained Sepulveda. “He and my son were best friends in the fourth grade (that was four years ago) when he was diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.  I believe the next year he was granted his wish.” 

Sepulveda said that when the child and his family returned from their wish trip they couldn’t say enough wonderful things about Make-A-Wish. “I applied to be a wish granter and became one later that year,” said Sepulveda.

“I got involved with Make-A-Wish after my first child was born,” said DeMerchant, now a mother of three. “Many Wish kids spend a significant amount of their childhoods in hospitals, going to and from doctor visits, and getting tested. The Wish allows these families to build memories beyond all of the hospital visits, surgeries and treatments.”

The Make-A-Wish Maine Chapter website guidelines note that Wish Granters are a specially trained group of volunteers who come into direct contact with the Wish children and their families, working as a liaison between the family and the staff to fulfill each child’s dream. Wish Granters work in teams of two and most Wish Granters complete one or two wishes per year. 

“Miranda and I have worked on two wishes together, very different wishes, as I suspect they all are. Having someone to work with makes the process both easier and more fun,” said DeMerchant. “It is nice to share the planning and excitement of building a wish with a partner.”

“Every wish is entirely different.  Some are fairly easy because the wish child knows exactly what they want.  Others are more difficult because they don’t know what they want or the doctor doesn’t approve the wish because of the medical condition,” said Sepulveda.

One of the more difficult wishes for her was a child’s wish to meet a celebrity. At the time of this wish, the celebrity had been involved in a scandal.  “We had to go back to the Wish child and let her know this.  Her next wish was a trip, but the doctor would not approve it because of her medical condition,” said Sepulveda.  “The wish she finally received was a ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party.” 

“My most memorable wish was actually the first wish I did, although they all have a very special place in my heart,” said DeMerchant. “When I arrived at the home for the first Wish family, the child’s parents were convinced that he was going to wish for a trip to Disney or to swim with dolphins in Florida.”

It was a surprise to everyone gathered when the child, who had an amazing amount of knowledge and passion about Egypt, announced that he wanted to travel there with his family.

“His family had visited an Egyptian exhibit at a museum about six months before and the child was just fascinated with everything … the mummies, the pyramids, the camels, you name it. He could even spell out words in hieroglyphics. It was a really cool wish and a joy to work with the family.”

“This will probably sound cliché but all my wishes are rewarding, though I can tell you, one of the most enjoyable wishes I’ve volunteered on was just granted recently,” said Sepulveda.  Oftentimes, when wishes are granted they involve travel somewhere, like Disney World, and the wish granter doesn’t see the wish from start to finish.  In this one, Sepulveda was actually able to see the look on the Wish child’s face as the wish was granted. 

“He didn’t know (about the wish) so it was a complete surprise to him,” said Sepulveda.  “He wished for a play set in his yard and it was an amazing experience to hear and see the complete joy from this Wish child as his wish got granted.”

For more information on the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Maine, go to www.mainewish.org.

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