Klara Pedersen Collects Letters for Macy’s Annual Believe Campaign
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – Make-A-Wish recipient Klara Pedersen of Sewell, New Jersey was determined once again this holiday season to give back to Make-A-Wish, the organization that granted her a life-changing wish in 2018. Klara and her sister Lily collected holiday letters for Macy’s as part of their National Believe Campaign, and this year, delivered 1,785 letters to Macy’s in West Deptford during National Believe Week on Friday, December 3rd.
From the start of the Believe campaign through its final day on December 24th, for every letter sent to Santa online at macys.com/believe or dropped off in Macy’s stores, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million. During National Believe Week from November 28th through December 4th, when Klara and Lily proudly delivered their letters, Macy’s pledged $2 for each letter collected, up to an extra $1 million above the existing $1 million campaign goal, to help create life-changing wishes for children fighting critical illnesses.
Klara’s wish for an Action Trackchair was granted at the beginning of the summer of 2018. It was the New Jersey chapter’s historic 10,000th wish. Klara, who battles a critical illness, knew this high-powered wheelchair with special treads around the wheels would give her a sense of freedom she had never experienced. As a family that enjoys hiking and exploring local nature preserves near their home, Klara’s wish was in many senses, a wish to enjoy - in her own way - the lifestyle of the great outdoors she, her sister and her parents have always loved.
Klara and Lily rallied the community around this year’s Believe Campaign – letters came in from Mantua Township School District, East Greenwich Schools, Salem County Adult Day Care, and schools in West Deptford and Southampton.
With support from the Macy’s Believe campaign, Make-A-Wish provides children with critical illnesses the chance to experience life beyond their illness and see their most heartfelt wish come true, allowing them to replace fear with confidence, anxiety with hope and sadness with joy. Since 2003, Macy’s has donated more than $137 million to Make-A-Wish, including more than $25 million through the retailer’s annual Believe campaign, helping grant more than 16,200 wishes.