SPOKANE, Wash. – Last month, 11-year-old Seton James met his favorite baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. This was his wish, granted by Make-A-Wish. Now, the nonprofit organization needs help to ensure other children can experience their dreams become reality.
“None of this would have been possible if Make-A-Wish hadn’t said ‘yes let’s do this,’ so it was really cool,” Seton James’ mom, Sarah James, said.
It’s not every day you get to run the bases, much less be the first person to touch all four, at your favorite baseball park, home to your favorite Major League Baseball (MLB) team; the Seattle Mariners.
“I remember some Make-A-Wish people came and asked me what I wanted for my wish, and I said to meet the Mariners,” Seton said.
On opening weekend, this dream became reality for one very happy 11-year-old boy, Seton James. He was born with a life-threatening respiratory condition, but through daily medication and activity, Seton is expected to be ok.
“Right now, he’s doing really really well,” James said.
The entire James family is incredibly grateful for Make-A-Wish in helping create lifelong memories for Seton, who before didn’t think it would be possible to personally meet his favorite players, quite literally getting the chance to run home to them on the field.
“Not many people can say they grant wishes for a living, so I feel very lucky,” Angela Miller, Vice President of Regional and Volunteer Programs for Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington, said.
Make-A-Wish’s mission is simple; create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. However, during spring and summer, a very busy travel season, the need for donations to make those wishes come true is even greater.
Right now, Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington has zero airline miles in the bank, which means the chapter is relying on cash donations to send children and their families to their wish locations, and this can lead to some challenges.
Miller said on average, 80 percent of kids’ wishes would involve flying somewhere, however, during this busy season that number almost bumps up to 100 percent.
“It ebbs and flows, when we come into seasons where a lot of children are traveling that’s when we’ll deplete our miles and then we really start sharing with the community that the need is back, and we need more miles to be donated,” Miller said.
Without those miles, Miller said Make-A-Wish AK & WA uses the cash donations to purchase everything for family trips, from the airline tickets, to lodging, to meals. That all adds up and can unfortunately create a bit of a waiting list.
“No one wants a sick child to have to wait any longer than necessary for their wish and the donation of airline miles helps us to get those wishes granted even quicker,” Miller said.
Right now, Miller said there are almost 50 kids waiting for this wish to be granted in the Spokane area alone. As more airline miles are donated, the quicker those wishes can come true.
“It’s really important for children who have these really big medical issues because sometimes, they don’t dream big because they don’t necessarily know that they can dream big,” James said. “And so, having Make-A-Wish tell you, ‘Yes you can, you can do these amazing things,’ it’s life changing.”
If you would like to donate airline miles or cash to Make-A-Wish AK & WA, to help grant wishes for kids just like Seton, click here.
Miller also adds volunteers are crucial in the process of granting wishes; two volunteers are needed for each child’s experience, so without enough volunteers, wishes cannot come true. If you would like to volunteer for Make-A-Wish, click here.
