Sailrite’s Make-A-Wish Day 2016

On April 20, 2016 we hosted a fundraising day, pledging to donate 10% of the day’s sales to Make-A-Wish. With the help of all of you, we were able to raise $7,931! With the cost of the average wish running around $7,500 this will be enough to help grant one wish.

This past Tuesday, to celebrate our fundraising efforts and to learn more about the work Make-A-Wish is doing for children with life-threatening medical conditions, we were visited by a few special guests; Kelsey, from Make-A-Wish and Wish Kid Cayden and his mom.

Cayden is an outgoing 9 year-old boy from Harlan, Ind. who loves to jump on the trampoline, go for bike rides and watch baseball games. His favorite movie is Big Hero 6 and he loves to eat cheese pizza from Pizza Hut. In 2014, Cayden was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, which starts in the immune cells and causes the lymphatic system to irregularly reproduce. This creates problems within the immune system and rapidly grows.

When Wish-Granting volunteers met with Cayden, he knew exactly what he wanted to wish for: to go to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii, so he could swim with dolphins, go snorkeling and take surfing lessons. He even wanted to ride in a helicopter to see volcanoes!

Thanks to Make-A-Wish, Cayden’s wish was granted this past spring break and he and his family spent 6 nights at Aulani experiencing all Hawaii has to offer. The trip was also a well deserved opportunity for the family to all relax together and take a break!

During their visit, Cayden and his mom told us about their trip and how Make-A-Wish set everything up for them, making the whole experience easy and hassle free. The thought of the upcoming trip was a source of encouragement to Cayden and his family during long hospital stays. He and his mom were also happy to report that Cayden has now been off chemotherapy for one year and is back in school.

We here at Sailrite look forward to making our Make-A-Wish Day an annual event. Be sure to look for more information about it next spring so you can help us grant more wishes for kids like Cayden! To learn more about Make-A-Wish and the work they do, visit Wish.org.