1. You care.
2. You can make a difference in the life of a child.
3. Kids deserve to have their dream come true.
4. Kids deserve to just be kids for a little while.
5. You want to help a sick child.
6. You can afford to.
7. It’s the right thing to do.
8. It does a heart good.
9. It will put a smile on the face of a child.
10. You become a part of making a wish come true.

Madeline
Wish Department

I watched the special on CSX’s Santa Train that aired on Great American Country over the weekend and it was amazing. If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you do.

I am extremely proud to say that Kids Wish Network was a part of this wonderful endeavor to help the children and families in the Appalachian Mountains. I am especially proud of Ashley, who was lucky enough to have been the KWN representative on the Santa Train. She did an amazing job helping out and putting a very happy face to the KWN name; in fact, everyone involved with the Santa Train did an awesome job.

There is nothing quite like that special feeling you get when you know that something you’ve done has gone towards helping children; with the Santa Train, over 5,000 children were given something to smile about for the holiday season when they might have had nothing. We at Kids Wish Network are very proud to have been a part of this event.

Shelley Breiner
Executive Director

Barbara and I are back from Vegas in one piece! As I mentioned before our departure, we went there to attend The ABC Kids Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show was busy and full of a lively atmosphere. We got to see and thank many of the wonderful companies who donate to our organization with such open hearts.

We had our little goodie bag full of Kids Wish Network Guardian Angel Coins which we passed out, along with our gratitude and many smiles. It was so heartwarming to be pulled aside and shown the coins in their purses and wallets from the last time we met or when we were told all the funny little stories that people connect to our little good luck charms!

We also met a lot of new companies with promises of future donations, everybody we met was so full of hope and charity, it was really uplifting. I know in my heart that between Kids Wish Network and the many kind and giving companies and individuals out there that we will be supplying toys and gifts to many many many deserving little people for a long long time to come!

Ashley
Distribution Department

Rogersville, MO – Two young boys from Rogersville have been chosen as recipients of Kids Wish Network’s “Hero of the Month Award” program by Cox Health Systems Hospital. The award is given to children nationwide by Kids Wish Network, a national charity dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. The Hero Program was created by the charity to help children who have experienced a life altering and often traumatic situation.

It was an ordinary ride home from grandma’s house for 3-year-old Isaiah and 4-year-old Elijah. Their father, Clint, had just picked them up and they were less than a minute away from home when a drunk driver crossed into their lane, causing Clint to swerve out of the way, flipping their Jeep Cherokee several times.

The jeep was stuck upside down, and it took over 50 minutes for medical crews to extract Clint from the vehicle. Isaiah sustained serious injuries, and was sedated at the scene.
The boys were taken along with their father to nearby hospital, Cox Health Systems.

“Isaiah’s injuries were much worse than Elijah’s, but Elijah remembered everything and was more emotionally damaged,” said Amanda, Isaiah and Elijah’s mom.

Kids Wish Network works with over 100 children’s facilities across the country, and each month one child from each facility is nominated as a hero. Each of those children is then recognized as that facility’s “Hero of the Month” and receives a medal, a certificate of honor, a gift card valued at between $200 and $500 depending on the child’s age, to buy whatever they wish for, and a Hero of the Month t-shirt.

Cox Health Systems nominated Elijah as their Hero of the Month for July.

Since the accident, Amanda said that everyone is doing OK. She said that the hero nomination has helped everyone cope much better.

“It helped Elijah get through it. Any time anyone comes over he shows them his award and tells them he is a superhero,” said Amanda. “He wears that medal all the time. We framed his award and its hanging on his wall in his bedroom.”

“When I first met Elijah, his only concern was for his little brother and his father,” said Child Life Specialist Amanda. “He is my hero because he was so focused on his brother that he did not care how he felt.”

The family recently found out that Isaiah will be receiving the honor for the month of August. “I already have a frame ready and the certificate is going up on the wall. He’ll be really excited when he gets his medal because he always wants to play with Elijah’s medal,” she said.

Amanda said she is excited that both boys will be recipients of the award. “I think it is a wonderful program for kids who have gone through traumatic experiences to say, “look what I did, look what I got!” she said.

Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. Aside from granting wishes, Kids Wish Network also has several other programs which benefit children’s care facilities. If you know a child between the ages of 3 and 18 who may be in need of its wish granting services, please call 727-937-3600 or toll free 888-918-9004. For more information on Kids Wish Network, visit their website at http://www.kidswishnetwork.org