Four-year-old Evie is a joyful, bright-eyed child who dreams of becoming a firefighter someday. She adores dressing up as characters from her favourite movies, and loves going on bike rides, playing at her local amusement park, swimming, and spending time with her family. Her radiant personality lights up any room, a testament to her resilience and strength.
Evie’s medical journey began before she was born. Diagnosed with a heart condition at 20 weeks, she faced significant challenges, including three open-heart surgeries and a pacemaker insertion in March 2020. “The diagnosis had a huge impact,” share her mother, Talia. “Evie was born at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we spend much of our time in the hospital in lockdown in another city.” Their two-year-old daughter, Violet, was separated from the family and didn’t meet Evie until she was three months old.
Despite these early hardships, Evie is now thriving. She attends school, plays sports, has a circle of friends and is living her best life. When Evie learned she qualified for a wish, she wanted to select an experience that could be shared with her family. “For us as her parents, we feel we missed so much of when she was a newborn because she was in the hospital,” Talia explained. “Being able to go on a carefree trip as a family felt like we were able to make new memories and get some of that family time back.”
The trip was filled with magical moments, especially when Evie and Violet got to join a parade after the characters spotted their Make-A-Wish shirts. “We have so many memories like that where the girls felt so special and it was very healing for us,” said Talia. “We have nothing but good memories to look back on from our trip.”
Hope is essential for children with critical illnesses, and its life-changing power is unlocked when wishes like Evie’s are granted. Together we can continue to transform lives, one wish at a time.
Every 20 minutes, a family hears the devastating news that their child is diagnosed with a critical illness. A wish can help improve a child’s quality of life and even produce better health outcomes.
Help us make a wish come true for a special child.
Wishes are an important part of a child’s medical journey. When children are battling a critical illness, so much of their childhood is taken away from them and can leave them feeling hopeless. A wish gives kids the chance to see past their illness. It provides hope, brings back a sense of childhood for the child and a sense of normalcy for their families. Research shows, and physicians agree, that wishes help improve a child’s quality of life and even produce better health outcomes.
Wishes are waiting, and we need your help. With a gift from you today, a child can experience the power of a wish.
Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child’s journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. As an independently operating affiliate of Make-A-Wish International, Make-A-Wish Canada is part of the network of the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization. We serve children in every community in Canada, and in more than 50 countries worldwide. Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Canada has granted over 40,000 wishes across the country, over 1,800 last year alone!
There are many ways you can help to bring hope, strength, and joy to children who really need it. No matter how you choose to get involved, when you’re a part of the Make-A-Wish Canada community, the support of generous people like you empowers us to make each wish a reality.
Right now, we have over 186 eligible kids waiting for wishes in Southern Alberta, with more being referred every day. With the symbolic value of a wish at $10,000, people like you make it possible for us to continue granting life-changing wishes for children facing critical illnesses.
Explore the many ways you can help below or contact us for more details!
Donate: Give children with critical illnesses a reason to hope for a brighter future and help make their wishes come true!
Hold a fundraiser: Join friends, family, or colleagues to raise money and bring people together. Whether you’re an individual, employee, organization or community, every bit of support goes a long way to grant the wishes of eligible children.
Support an event or campaign: You can support us through one of our seasonal campaigns or annual events, including:
Volunteer: Help us bring the power of a wish to children, families and communities across Canada. Become a Make-A-Wish volunteer today and join a dedicated, nationwide network of Canadians who give their time and skills to help create moments of hope for children diagnosed with a critical illness.
Learn more about how to get involved.