DES MOINES, Iowa — A sold-out crowd of more than 800 wishmakers came together on Saturday, May 6 to raise $493,182 in gross revenue dollars at this year’s Make-A-Wish Iowa Des Moines Gala. Live and silent auctions, raffles and donor generosity made this one of the chapter’s most successful fundraisers to date.
This year’s “Leaving a Legacy of Wishes: A Royal Affair” event highlighted the stories of Joseph, Hailey, and Ava, three Iowa youth facing critical illnesses in their young lives who recently had their wishes granted in spectacular ways. The crowd watched videos of their wish stories and heard from their families, providing insight into the life of caretaking for youngsters who are waiting for their wishes to come true.
“Our Des Moines Gala was a fantastic evening, thanks to the many members of our Make-A-Wish Iowa community coming together to raise money that will grant wishes to children facing critical illnesses in their lives,” said JoDee Stensland, Make-A-Wish Iowa Board of Directors chair and Des Moines Gala chair. “We are grateful for our sponsors, particularly those at our Hope level — IBEW and NECA and Warners’ Stellian Appliance, and all our incredibly generous donors who made our evening possible.”
The organization is on track to grant 200 wishes by the end of August. Sara Kurovski, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa, said there’s never been a more critical time to grant wishes for kids in Iowa.
“We are receiving referrals of new children every day, which is outpacing the wishes we are granting,” said Kurovski. “The community came together for the kids waiting for a wish at time when we need to be granting 250 wishes or more each year, and that takes everyone from volunteers, to donations, to specialty support on each and every wish.”
The recently released 2022 Wish Impact Study provided quantitative data that shows how wish fulfillment promotes mental and emotional well-being for children and their families.
A Make-A-Wish experience is more than a moment in time; it brings hope where there is fear, strength where there is anxiety and joy where there is sadness. Of those surveyed, 94% of parents recalled seeing improvements in their child’s emotional well-being, so much so that 91% of parents reported the wish gave their child a better chance of surviving their illness. As a result, 91% of parents consider the wish to have been a necessary part of their child’s medical treatment.