ROANOKE, Va. – There's nothing like the heart of a volunteer.
Volunteers for non-profits are needed now more than ever as charity organizations are struggling to raise money through the pandemic. Make-Wish-A-Wish Greater Virginia is among many of those in Southwest Virginia.
Make-A-Wish is all about putting a smile on a child's face, who so desperately needs time to just be a kid.
Evers of Roanoke is a Make-A-Wish kid.
“Taking my Make A Wish trip helped me and my family have a break from my chemo treatments, MRI and bloodwork,” Evers said.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2015. After two years of chemotherapy, constant tests and doctor’s visits interrupted his childhood, he was granted his wish of taking a family trip to Japan.
“It was a life-changing trip and I’ll never forget it,” Evers said.
It was so memorable, now that he has recovered, his mom Joey Beck wanted to help other kids wishes come true, too.
“I got to see first-hand that something simple like that can make a huge difference,” Beck said.
There are 287 children in Virginia waiting for their wishes to be granted, 30 of them live in Southwest Virginia.
“It boils down to they have to have money to grant these wishes,” Beck said.
But like most other non-profits, COVID-19 has made it hard to raise money. but president and CEO Sheri Lambert explains the need to grant wishes is now greater than ever.
“Hope is really essential for these kids battling a critical illness. It gives them a sense of normalcy,” Lambert said. Seeing first-hand the power of a wish, Beck made it her mission to make another child’s come true.
“They are all going through something that there iii is no rhyme or reason why they got it. It wasn’t anything they did,” Beck said.
Paying the kindness her family received forward, Beck raised more than $12,000. A sum of money which is enough to grant the wishes of multiple children.
Beck is one of six W.I.S.H circle honorees honored this week for their efforts.
W.I.S.H. stands for “women inspiring strength and hope.”
Together they have raised more than $30,000.