BOISE -- What's your one true, heartfelt wish? It's a question that Make-A-Wish wish granters get to ask children battling critical illnesses, changing their lives forever.
The demand for wishes is growing in Idaho, with more kids than ever waiting for a wish. To help make those come true, Make-A-Wish is calling on the community; they are sending out an urgent plea for more wish granters.
For so many kids, a granted wish marks a turning point in their uphill fight against their illness, replacing fear and sadness with joy and hope. Make-A-Wish Idaho relies on volunteers to connect with those kids and dedicate time, energy and heart to turn their dreams into reality.
"Wishes are life-changing. They really give the child their childhood back," Make-A-Wish volunteer and communications coordinator, Sarah Graves, said. "We just need those community members really passionate about helping kids and other people to help us make that mission possible."
The foundation will grant 93 wishes this year but with more wish granters and donations, they hope to do more.
As she witnessed her 17-year-old son battle cancer, Wendy Sorenson realized a wish had the power to change everything.
"After giving Christian bad news after bad news after bad news, I was delighted to be able to walk into his room in the hospital and say, Christian, I think you can have a wish. And then his whole demeanor changed and then we got to spend some moments of just kind of realizing different reams he might have," Sorenson said. "Gave him hope to just continue to push through and persevere. It was a tough trial for him. So then for him to realize he can have this dream filled at the end was just hope for him."
As Christian underwent treatment and looked ahead to his special day - attending the University of North Carolina vs. Duke basketball game - his Make-A-Wish wish granters kept his spirits up.
"Through the process his wish granters would come meet with him and bring him little gifts to the hospital," Sorenson said. "He would just get excited again and again."
They inspired Wendy so much that she became one herself.
"I really felt that they were a part of our family and that they really cared," she said. "I wanted to be able to be the giver of hope that we had received."
She joined long-time wish granters like Delisa Rapp and Jessica Herr, along with about 150 others.
"I think it's probably the most important part of the job," Rapp said.
"We're on the front lines of wish granting. I mean their dream is through us. They don't see the people in the background setting everything up. It's like we're the front line, we are Make-A-Wish," Herr added.
Wish Granters are liaisons between the foundation and the families, discovering childrens' one true wish.
"The idea of being to able to ask a kid and sit down with these kiddos and say 'what is your one true wish?' Just saying that to a kid is amazing. And you get to see their eyes get so big and their smiles come across their face and their parents are in the background and their siblings are just smiling ear to ear," Rapp said.
"You get to actively see this child dream and it's really inspiring," Herr added. "If you want to make a difference, wish granting is where it's at. Because you will make a difference every day in these kids' lives."
There are misconceptions about wish granting, though: that it's time consuming or they have to handle logistics and pay for things. But that's not the case - the Make-A-Wish Idaho office takes care of that side.
"They do all the heavy lifting, they do all the work. We just get to bring the fun, the joy, the hope and the strength to these kids and we get to keep them excited about having this one true wish that they have. And our job is easy," Rapp told KTVB.
Right off the bat, Wish Granters go through training and background checks and on their first wish, they are accompanied by a mentor who is an experienced Wish Granter. As they grant their wish, Wish Granters keep the kids excited, encouraged and engaged.
"We want to keep that hope alive, we want to keep that joy so they can get through their treatments or get through whatever they're going through. That's the whole idea," Rapp added.
"It's not a huge time commitment whatsoever and it's greatly rewarding," Sorenson said.
But Make-A-Wish desperately needs more volunteers to help grant more wishes.
"We have a ton of wishes, more wishes than we've ever had before here in Idaho which is great, we're getting our name out there, it's awesome. But it means we really need a lot more volunteers. We're trying to double our volunteer force," Graves said.
They are trying to grow their Wish Granter force from 150 to 300 with the goal being to have Wish Granters physically in every area where there are wish kids.
"Kids are waiting everywhere," Graves told KTVB. "Idaho is so big and there's lots of rural areas. So even if your community is small we probably need you in that area too."
Make-A-Wish said last month nearly 60 Idaho kids were waiting for wishes across the state. That number fluctuates throughout the year.
"We grant about 93 wishes a year. But the only thing holding us back for granting more is volunteers," Graves added. "It kind of depends on the wish choice of how long a child is waiting. But even before we get to talk to them, kids could be waiting up to a year for volunteers. And we can change that simply by having a bigger force going to talk to people."
"We really need granters. Because looking back on our situation, our son was contacted very quickly and if we had to wait and not know how long it was going to be I think that would be discouraging," Sorenson said. "Through their treatments and struggles they need to receive hope as soon as possible."
If you want to be a Wish Granter, reach out to Make-A-Wish Idaho and other volunteers like KTVB's own Morgan Boydston so you can learn more!
The foundation is always looking for donations to grant more wishes and airline miles to get kids and their families where they want to go. Make-A-Wish holds fundraisers throughout the year, with Wishes in Flight on March 21 and Walk for Wishes on June 1. Find out how you can get involved by visiting their web page idaho.wish.org.