City Council Honors Greater Los Angeles chapter

More than 7,000 children with life-threatening medical conditions have had their wishes granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, which was honored today by the Los Angeles City Council.

Councilman Paul Koretz presented officials from the charity with a proclamation declaring "Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles Day" in the city.

"The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been doing incredibly good work for many years, since 1983, where they provide a wish for very seriously ill children," Koretz said.

"It's not an inexpensive process, and in the last year, I know the L.A. chapter of Make-A-Wish did 420 wishes, which is a record for them in their history," he said. "They have to do a lot of fundraising. They depend on the generosity of Los Angelenos and so we all hope this (honor) will help give them visibility and get them support."

A foundation official described the service as "powerful medicine."

"We at the Make-a-Wish foundation are blessed to bring a welcome distraction to a child who is battling a life-threatening medical condition," said Dr. Ramin Baschshi. "A wish can be powerful medicine for not only the child but their family who have seen their lives utterly turned upside down."

Baschshi noted the charity has relied solely on donations in its 27 years, and thanked those who have given their money, time and/or services to help out. She said fulfilling a wish costs an average of $7,500, and urged the people of Los Angeles County to remain generous.

"We at the foundation believe that children need to experience childhood as it is meant to be filled — with laughter and joy," Baschshi said. "We provide them the chance to use their imagination and complete the sentence that usually starts with 'I want to be,' 'I want to have,' 'I want to meet,' or 'I want to go," then it is our job to make that magic happen."

The ceremony inside the council chamber was attended by the 7,000th child to have a wish fulfilled by the charity and its donors.
Claire Wineland, 13, who has cystic fibrosis, had her Calabasas bedroom transformed into an oceanic wonderland, with images of mermaids and starfish, thanks to television personality and interior decorator Kim Myles.

Also in attendance was 3-year-old Matthew Palacios, who will be the charity's 7,001st beneficiary. He and his family will visit Give Kids the World, Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld in Florida.

On Tuesday, the Foundation was also recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with Zev Yaroslavsky making the presentation of a proclamation. Kathleen Quintas, a wish mom, spoke on behalf of the Foundation and her son, Bryan. The family just returned from his wish to go to the 150th British Open.

Source: LA Daily News