Feature Photo By: Myriam-Fernanda Alcala Delgado – Sophomore Rahwa Desta works the Make-A-Wish table during B lunch to raise money for Rangeview’s Make-A-Wish Kid, Jackson.
By: Myriam-Fernanda Alcala Delgado, Review Staff
On Friday, September 22nd, Rangeview High School’s Make-A-Wish committee announced to the student body the name of the kid Rangeview is adopting this school year; the name of Rangeview’s Make-A-Wish kid is Jackson. In the past, Rangeview has been a part of Make-A-Wish Colorado by adopting a child with cancer to help fundraise and make their dreams come true. For the past two years, Rangeview has adopted a girl, so adopting a boy is definitely new. Here are a few facts about Jackson:
- Age: 6
- Medical Condition: Leukemia
- Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO
- Jackson’s wish: Go to Hawaii
Senior and Make-A-Wish committee head, Maddie Heiken, elaborated more on Rangeview’s Make-A-Wish program and their goals this school year.
Heiken stated,“Make-A-Wish’s goal is 15,000 dollars, we would like to reach $10,000 before Wish Week so we can have the kid come to our assembly…our goal is also to just get more people involved.”
So far, Make-A-Wish has reached around $2000 and is planning to have an increase in fundraising profit after T-shirt sales start.
To achieve the goal, Heiken explained that the Make-A-Wish committee is hosting monthly events like the Bounce-A-Palooza that took place last month, and the Wish-A-Thon that is taking place November 4th. Along with events, Rangeview’s Make-A-Wish committee has smaller fundraisers.
Heiken said, “Our plan is to sell cotton candy all year long and candy bags and we also have grad grams for the end of the year and candy grams for Valentine’s Day. We also have a toilet that’s going to be going around collecting money in classrooms for the winter months and we have our miracle minutes.”
When asking students and teachers about Make-A-Wish and its importance/impact, both parties presented a positive reaction. Make-A-Wish is important because, according to Heiken, “It grants wishes for kids that don’t have the means to grant them themselves.”
Teacher Ryan Hill also touched on the subject in an interview where he explained that Rangeview has done a good job fundraising the past two years but something to work on would be getting students more involved, as Heiken mentioned before. Mr. Hill added, “It’s a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together and focus our abilities and resources on one collective goal.”
A member of Rangeview’s Make-A-Wish committee, sophomore Tereya Emerson, talked about the impact she’s had personally while working with Make-A-Wish, “It’s very inspiring, it makes me feel like a good person and I’m glad it’s [done] for a good reason.”