Wishes are as diverse as each child! If they can wish it, we can make it happen!

Recent wishes include:

• the ever popular Disney trip
• remodeling a bedroom
• dude ranch in Montana
• pool table
• shopping sprees
• Big Screen TV
• Hot Tub
• Above Ground Pool
• Fishing Trips
• Paint Guns
• Computers
• Celebrity Wishes – Toby Keith, Reba McIntyre, John Ritter, Clay Aiken, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer – many more!

Also see "R" Kids for great photos!

May 2006. Korey is a 14 year old who loves playing games on the computer – and not just any games, he love the SIMS reality games, and creating cartoons. Korey also planned to use his system to do schoolwork. Wishes Can Happen gave him an “Alienware” computer loaded with an extra high speed connection and great resolution to enjoy his games, as well as Powerpoint, Publisher, Word. We also included an extra special graphics program, since he thinks he might like to get into graphics someday.

Korey Harlow (holding computer)

"Hey Madeline! I'm just emailing a thank you for the cool laptop. I love the electric blue color and its awesome speed. I love how the words "Alienware" glow blue and to play Sims on the humungous blue screen. After I loaded everything, I found new programs that I could use for school, like Powerpoint, Word and many more programs that will help me a lot in school. I like how it is something I can always do, even when I'm sick or in the hospital. I dont think I'd wish for anything else. I dont know how else to say thank you in a way that's good enough for how appreciative I am!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

From,

Korey Harlow"

JANUARY 2005. Trip to Maui, Hawaii. Jessica is 17 years old, illness cancer (Wilm’s Tumor).

Jessica DiNarda (holding purse)

"I want to thank you so much for your generosity in planning my Wishes Can Happen trip to Hawaii. We all enjoyed everything you did for us. The whale watching on a private yacht with Captain Seth was so incredibly relaxing and fun. Warren and Annabelle's magic show was hilarious. The luau was a once in a lifetime experience that all of us thought was very entertaining. Even though I found out I had no balance, surfing was challenging yet fun. We also took an opportunity to go snorkeling at Molokini Crater which for all of us was spectacular. The water look like blue kool-aid! We did get the chance to see whales breeching on the hour boat ride to the crater! The most memorable part was after surfing, I was walking down the stairs to go to dinner and missed the last step and fractured my foot! Who would have thought? Something like that would only happen to me! My family again wants to thank you for everything you planned for us. We plan on going back to Hawaii in the future because one week in paradise is not enough to see and everything we wanted! This vacation was just what my family and I needed to start off the year. Thank you again!"

JULY 2004. Lauren wished for a golf car. Visiting her friends is easy now! (cancer)

“Your kindness has made a very positive impact on Lauren’s life during this very trying time. You have put a smile on a brave little girl’s face, and therefore a smile in my heart. Wishes Can Happen is such a wonderful organization and is to be commended for the contribution they make to the children of our community.” – Lauren’s mom, Nancy

MAY 2004. Wishes Can Happen does many wishes for children in Amish Country. We received this wish request via a letter from Laura, since the family is Amish and has no phone. Her wish was granted inside of a week, and she was thrilled. Sally & Ken Atkins-Truesdale (Wishes friends from Maine) purchased the harmonica and had it shipped directly to Laura. Special thanks to Renee Luczynski for the numerous trips to Amish country to purchase and deliver items – including that all important bag of candy! Laura’s sister passed away in 2003 from the same disease Laura has.

::: Alex enjoys the Ice Cream Shoppe at Give Kids the World :::
[pictured with Give Kids the World volunteers}

“We can’t say enough about Wishes Can Happen. You made a dream come true for Alex. You are all awesome in every way. Our time together and memories happened because of you. Something I never thought possible. Again, because of Wishes Can Happen. We love you and everybody that made this possible.”
- Donna Owen

::: Holly meets her American Idols in Philadelphia, Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson :::

March 2004 Holly loves Clay Aiken and was able to have a personal meeting with Clay and Kelly prior to a concert. She was taken to the concert in her own personal trolley car – thanks to Wishes Can Happen! The family also enjoyed a suite hotel and toured Philadelphia by a horse drawn carriage. Holly said, “Words can’t describe how cool it was!” (arteriovenous malformations of brain)

::: Alex Owen on her Disney World Cruise and Vacation 2004 :::

Alex pictured with family (Sister, Ashley and parents Robert and Donna)

Alex pictured with Madelyn from Wishes Can Happen, and Ashley

HUNTINGTON -- The excitement of getting to meet her favorite country music singer Saturday night was almost too much for 9-year-old Alicia Helwig.

Jeff Gentner / The Herald-Dispatch Country music star Toby Keith meets with Alicia Helwig, 9, of Canton Ohio Saturday while her mother Tammy looks on backstage at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. Helwig who has Cancer was granted the meeting provided by Wishes Can Happen Inc.

"He's my man," she said as she waited in line at the Huntington Civic Arena to meet country star Toby Keith. "I love his music. It just makes me feel happy. My heart's beating."

Helwig and her parents, Pat and Tammy Helwig, and siblings Adreanna, 16, Rachael, 12, and Patrick, 7, traveled to Huntington on Friday from Zoar, Ohio, to attend the concert thanks to Wishes Can Happen Inc.

The volunteer-run organization in North Canton, Ohio, has granted wishes for Ohio children with life-threatening illnesses the past 22 years, said Madelyn Sweeney, director of community relations.

Helwig has a brain tumor that metastasized and she has undergone seven operations and chemotherapy, Pat Helwig said.

"She has been looking forward to it the last week and a half," he said. "It's really exciting for her. It's one of the things that kept her going."

Keith performed before a sold-out concert crowd Saturday. His latest record is "Shock'n Y'all" and he has had 11 No. 1 hits, according to Gannett News Service.

As she waited to meet Keith, the little girl with the quick smile and quicker wit shared candy and chattered happily to her parents and other people in line.

"I was crying out there I was so excited," Alicia Helwig said. "I'm gonna say 'you my man.'"

She not only got to meet "her man," but she also got to give him a kiss and she sang part of his song, "If I was Jesus," to him.

Her father wheeled her away afterward in a wheelchair and she waved two autographed photos of Keith as family members snapped photos of her before the concert began.

Helwig was nervous before meeting Keith but Dan Kage of Wilkshire Hills, Ohio -- her "Uncle Danny" as she calls him -- reassured her.

"I told her if she got scared to talk to him, just think he's lucky to meet you," Kage said.

Sweeney complimented "the good people of Huntington." Everyone they met has been friendly and given them items, she said. The family received a special rate and special attention staying at the Radisson Hotel and traveling in a Good Times limousine. Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar arranged to have 150 balloons in Alicia's hotel room, she said.

"She's a very special little girl," Sweeney said. "She is an angel on earth. She's going to get that miracle. She has a wonderful family. They have so many people praying for them."