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In the Media

Newspapers, magazines and other media do a lot to spread the word of the Foundation's work. Click a story below to see incredible stories about wish kids, volunteers and more

Rolling for Wishes fundraiser rolls into fifth year
The "Rolling for Wishes V" Casino Night to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire will be held Saturday, March 3, at the Santiago Canyon Estate. The canyon views will provide the backdrop for a black-white-silver "Casablanca" theme. The evening will include dinner, casino action, raffles and games, plus silent and live auctions. The annual event is hosted by Karla Kjellin-Elder and Jeff Elder of Orange.

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Monster Gives Back - Pole Position Event
A huge thanks to Monster Energy Gives Back for their event at Pole Position Raceway in Corona benefitting our local chapter. Monster Energy athletes and artists attended the event to help raise money to help make wishes come true! We had some fun celebrity races and great food provided by West Coast Customs Chronic Taco. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this event a success! To learn more about the event [click to view]

Don’t Be E-Wasteful!
What happens when your cell phone finally dies, your mp3 player breaks, or your computer goes caput? Do you know how to safely dispose of E-Waste? You can’t just throw it in the trash. Most electronics contain elements that are poisonous or harmful to the environment; particularly lead and mercury. Luckily there are some local businesses that are here to help.

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Winter Wishes comes to Downtown Riverside
Eyekonic Visions and Photography presents “Winter Wishes 2012,” a fashion event featuring winter fashions produced by the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

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Make A Wish Foundation Open House
The City of Newport Beach came to the Make-A-Wish Open House to meet local volunteers, donors and wish families. [click to view]

Monster electronic waste collection to benefit charity
Corona-based Monster Beverage Co. is hosting an electronic waste collection event supported by ECS Refining’s e-collective program from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 14.

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Merchant Services of Irvine Supports Boy’s Wish to See a T-Rex
Merchant Services of Irvine, as part of their ongoing dedication to partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, recently granted their 40th wish and helped a young boy from Mission Viejo, CA, see a Tyrannosaurus Rex and meet paleontologists. [click to view]

Local Make-A-Wish chapter celebrates 6th annual Christmas Wishes
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire recently hosted its 6th annual Christmas Wishes event. This year it took place at Disneyland’s Club 33 to celebrate both the wishes granted this past year and the donors who adopted them.
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Students donate backpacks to Make-A-Wish
Poly High School students in the Computer/FBLA Club and their advisor Barbara Durst-Taylor, left, show the backpacks purchased for Make-A-Wish Foundation. The club collected $700 from Poly High students to purchase 59 backpacks for children with life-threatening illnesses to take when they travel to have their wish fulfilled. [click to view]

Wish Kids Take A Cruise
Local Make-A-Wish kids had a special cruise in Newport Harbor on July 4, complete with games, prizes and a special guest. “The Fourth of July meant more than apple pie and fireworks for many of our local wish children,” Colleen Donovan, PR and development coordinator for MAW of Orange County and Inland Empire wrote in an email.

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11-year-old battling serious illness counts her blessings
Mya Jenkins was born with a life-threatening illness. But her mother, Sherry Jenkins, says Mya, 11, and her family are "blessed." That blessing has come in the form of caring and help Mya's family has received on many fronts: medical professionals and organizations like the Make-a-Wish Foundation. [click to view]

Stater Bros. Charities granted 4 local childrens’ wishes
The charitable arm of Stater Bros. Markets of San Bernardino, Stater Bros. Charities, presented the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire with a $20,000 donation last month. With their donation, Stater Bros. Charities will be able to fund the wishes of four local children. [click to view]

Foil flies for fun, charity
Armed with scissors, tape, ribbons, bows, wrapping paper and a heaping dose of creativity, representatives from 10 of O.C.'s leading nonprofits engaged in a gift-wrapping competition at South Coast Plaza's Crystal Court, all sponsored by Nello Cucina, an Italian restaurant on the lobby level. [click to view]

The Shops at Dos Lagos to host Halloween Spooktacular
CORONA, Calif. – Join the Make-A-Wish Foundation at The Shops at Dos Lagos in Corona for a safe and not-so-spooky Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public. Raffle and game tickets will be sold for $1 each and can be purchased on site the day of the event. [click to view]

Hahn & Bowersock helps make a child’s wish come true
Hahn & Bowersock partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire, launching a campaign to raise funds to grant a child’s wish. The Costa-Mesa based court-reporting company raised money over the summer through its “Depositions Can Make Wishes Come True” campaign, pledging $1 for every deposition and legal video sold over a four-month period and, with help from clients, raised enough money to sponsor the wish of 8-year-old Isabel. [click to view]

Canyon Lake teen aims to help Make-A-Wish Foundation
Five years ago, the Make-A-Wish Foundation gave Jessi Riddle of Canyon Lake a week she will never forget. Ever since, she’s been returning the favor. Jessi, 16, was born with a complicated central nervous system dysfunction that has sapped her strength but not her resolve.
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Kaleidoscope helps make wishes come true
Kaleidoscope mall presented a $5,000 check to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire on Sept. 25 for a 5-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita boy to enjoy a Disney Cruise Vacation with his family and to also meet Mickey Mouse. The donation was made possible from proceeds raised at Kaleidoscope's Red, White & Dine Wine Extravaganza in Augus [click to view]

Make-A-Wish celebrates new Riverside office and Monster wis
Last weekend, the Orange County and Inland Empire chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation marked a double celebration. The local chapter of the national nonprofit organization marked the close of the summer season and the opening of its new Riverside office with a community block party, and then followed it with a wish presentation for a local boy the next day. [click to view]

Painful Illness Does Not Stop Girl From Giving Back
A high school senior who once was granted a gift from the Make -A-Wish Foundation will hold a toy and backpack drive to help other children who are in need of some happiness in their lives. [click to view]

Drink some wine, help a kid’s dream come true
Rob Gundling, the owner of O.C. Custom Wines in Anaheim, is also on the board of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County. (For those who don’t know, the foundation has been around since 1980 and enriches the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions by helping them realize a wish.) [click to view]

The "Monster Energy Gives Back Program" inspires memorable wish for Corona boy
Christopher, a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, never imagined his wish to go on a shopping spree would turn into the kind of day he was given last Saturday, September 17. The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Orange County and the Inland Empire granted Christopher’s wish to shop for motorcycle gear and a laptop. In August, Monster Beverage Company partnered with Make-A-Wish to sponsor Christopher’s wish, and the outcome was an inspirational collaboration. [click to view]

Corona teen gets shopping wish granted
Corona based Monster Beverage Company is partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Orange County and the Inland Empire to sponsor the wish of 14-year-old Christopher, also of Corona, who is battling Burkitt's lymphoma. [click to view]

Los Alamitos makes teen's wish come true
This week, Los Alamitos is hosting a special visitor - Emanuel Curiel, a 17-year-old teenager from South Carolina whose wish through the Make-A-Wish foundation was to visit the trainers, jockeys and horses at the Southern California track. [click to view]

Young man Makes A Wish, unites Los Alamitos' finest
In the hard-boiled orbit of horse racing, where the rivalries among jockeys, trainers and owners can be fierce because of the competitive nature of the sport, a poignant scene has been unfolding this week at the Los Alamitos Race Track.Everyone has been united in turning a dream into reality for a 17-year-old from South Carolina named Eamanuel Curiel, a Make A Wish recipient who flew here with his family Monday to visit one of the storied quarter horse emporiums in America and be introduced to many of its revered figures. [click to view]

Restaurant's $48,000 giveaway now $800,000
White House Restaurant owner Bruno Serato held a contest this summer to give away 12 luncheons – each valued at $4,000 – to charities to help them raise money. Make-A-Wish was one of the recipients of Bruno's generosity.
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Lakeland Village Man Rides Solo For Sick Kids
Despite blazing temperatures, Lakeland Village resident Dave Rusk set out today on his third “Ride For Wishes” solo motorcycle trip to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire. [click to view]

Angel Sightings at Two Laguna Beach Art Galleries
Nancy Stubbs and Patrick Whelan asked local artists to create angels to sell in their galleries. Proceeds from sold artwork will benefit the Make-a-Wish-Foundation. [click to view]

Laguna Beach galleries celebrate angels
The Cottage Gallery and the Whelan Gallery welcomed art lovers for a Night of a Hundred Angels on Saturday. The month-long exhibit features artwork in a variety of mediums with an angel theme. On Saturday, the galleries accepted donations for the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and a percentage of the exhibit's proceeds will also be donated. [click to view]

Food Truck: Bottoms up and Bon Appetit
Foodies clambered into the Best Buy parking lot in Fullerton to sink their teeth into some of the best cuisine on wheels.
The Food Truck Festival Fundraiser, arranged by gotfoodtrucks, showcased an array of 14 brightly-colored mobile caterers, enticing hundreds of watering mouths in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire.
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Wine tasting benefits Make-A-Wish
Kaleidoscope hosted a wine tasting event Wednesday night to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The event featured wines from 18 boutique and renowned wineries, paired with hors d' oeuvres and finger foods from restaurants in the Kaleidoscope mall. An array of cheeses were displayed on two tables, one highlighting red wine pairings and the other white wine pairings. [click to view]

Kaleido-Kids Mini Carnival and Make-A-Wish Fundraiser
The Kaleidoscope Shopping Center teamed up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help make children's wishes come true. Garden Grove TV3 reporter Liberty Zabala takes us to the event. [click to view]

Families enjoy ‘Make-A-Wish' splash party
Selah Short was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4 and 20 years later happily remembers having her wish to cruise on Disney's "Big Red Boat" granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So Saturday, Short happily – leukemia free – volunteered at the check-in table as hundreds of children and their parents arrived for a Make-A-Wish party at Wild Rivers water park. [click to view]

Kaleidoscope carnival hosts special guests
MISSION VIEJO – Wearing a white Make-A-Wish T-shirt, Jackson Peper, 6, was among several families who attended a free carnival at Kaleidoscope on Wednesday morning. By 11 a.m., Jackson, who wants to become a police officer one day, had already won two gift cards at the Prize Wheel table and was anxious to explore the rest of the carnival. [click to view]

UCLA football: Edison High walk-on to meet Tebow
UCLA freshman walk-on tight end Luke Gane made a wish and it’s about to come true. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is flying Gane, who missed his junior season at Edison High while battling aplastic anemia three years ago, to Denver on Wednesday to meet Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. [click to view]

Kaleidoscope hopes to sell shoppers on mall
Kaleidoscope will continue to host events targeted at different age groups to get area shoppers excited about the improvements made at the mall. The next two events at Kaleidoscope will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Kaleido-Kids Mini Carnival Day will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It's free and will have events such as inflatable games and obstacle courses, a trackless train and organized competitive games. [click to view]

Farrell's ice cream contests lure fans
Andrea Barber of Orange said she felt a horrible "brain freeze" coming on. She had just consumed a "Pig's Trough" of ice cream — a double banana split with six scoops complete with toppings during the second annual "Splendiferously Superiffic Summer Spectacular Ice Cream Eating Challenge" at Farrell's Ice Cream in Mission Viejo on Sunday. [click to view]

Farrell's Ice Cream Eating Challenge Draws Hungry Fans
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in Mission Viejo hosted the second-annual Splendiferously Superiffic Summer Spectacular Ice Cream Eating Challenege at the Shops at Mission Viejo Sunday. [click to view]

Miracle Mondays at Cha Cha’s Tacos
Every Monday night you can dine with your family at Cha Cha’s Tacos and save 25% off your entrees. Cha Cha’s Tacos will also donate 25% of the your entrees to Orange County and Inland Impire Make-a-Wish Foundation. You are not only saving money on dining out, but also helping a fabulous charity. [click to view]

Sheriff Thanks Many for Success of Make-A-Wish Cruise
Dozens of children with life-threatening medical conditions, along with their families, were hosted on the water in Newport Beach harbor on July 4. Sheriff's Harbor Patrol helped coordinate the event, which included a pancake breakfast at American Legion Newport Harbor Post 291 and a hot dog lunch aboard the Electra Cruises vessel Eternity. [click to view]

Make-a-Wish Granted Donald’s Wish
We have all heard of Make-a-Wish foundation, however not many of us have gotten a chance to see them grant a wish. I recently had the opportunity to see them grant a wish to a special young man named Donald. [click to view]

Students Help Grant Wishes
Newport Beach kids are granting wishes using money from their piggy banks, lemonade stands, bake sales and even their birthday money. Newport Coast Elementary and Corona del Mar High School both raised $4,000 this year to grant two kids’ wishes through Make-A-Wish Foundation. [click to view]

Pig out at Farrell's ice cream challenge
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour kicked off its second annual ice cream eating challenge on Monday morning, June 20th. Proceeds from the challenge go toward Children's Hospital of Orange County and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. [click to view]

Farrell's Ice Cream Challenge
KTLA was at Farrell's in Mission Viejo to help them kick off the second annual Splendifferously Superiffic Summer Spectaular Ice Cream Eating Challenge going on now until July 10th. [click to view]

Farrell's 2nd Annual Ice Cream Challenge
America's top Summer Ice Cream Eating Challenge is back for 2011 and cooler than ever! Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in Mission Viejo, Orange County is looking for America's fastest ice cream eaters. Qualifying goes from June 20 - July10 with the Championship event held at Farrell's in Mission Viejo on July 17. Come one come all and bring your family to witness spectacles that will not be seen again until next summers event!!!
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Lunch change makes wishes come true
Irvine family the recipient of Newport-Mesa Unified students' efforts making the Make-A-Wish Foundation. [click to view]

Make-A-Wish Foundation opens Riverside office
As the season of giving begins, an organization that acts as Santa Claus for sick children all year long has set up shop in downtown Riverside. [click to view]

Making wishes come true
While Americana at Brand shoppers hustled and bustled across the way, 14-year-old Matthew Winward received his wish on Thursday: a trip to sushi school. Winward's wish is the second of 10 public wish celebrations during Make-A-Wish Foundation's sixth annual Season of Wishes, and the first of the series at the Americana. [click to view]

Grand Terrace teen's book is wish come true, literally
Adrian Curiel wrote a book about his experience with cancer. His dream of having it published was turned into reality by the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire. [click to view]

Flying Michael the Batman- KFROG Radiothon Spot
One of our local wish kids, Michael, was featured in a special PSA for Loma Linda Hospital. Click on the link to hear Michael's radio debut. [click to view]

Tricycle ride is wish come true for Yorba Linda family
YORBA LINDA – It's tough for the Pratts to participate in outdoor activities as a family. Sandy and Steve Pratt's 12-year-old daughter, Brenna, has suffered from severe seizures for most of her life, and was diagnosed two years ago with Dravet syndrome, a progressive neurological development disorder. [click to view]

Wishing for a room
Susana's wish came true thanks to Broyhill and Mathis Brothers furniture. [click to view]

Wish comes true for AV teen with surprise bedroom makeover
APPLE VALLEY • When you’re born with a life-threatening medical condition, your bedroom can become your whole world. That’s why, when 17-year-old Susana Romero of Apple Valley was given the chance to make a wish, she asked for a bedroom makeover complete with a canopy bed and zebra-print accessories. [click to view]

July 6: Boy uses Batmobile, 'copter to save city
Michael Valle was a little boy in the hospital when he discovered his superhero powers. The nurses all called him the man of steel. And little by little, he realized that with enough imagination, he could run super-fast and fly – could even smile through chemotherapy and flex his arms after a round of radiation. He wasn't just Michael Valle, a 5-year-old boy with a daredevil streak and a surgical scar on his belly. He was Flying Michael... the Batman! [click to view]

July 6: Boy's wish comes true: superhero for a day
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- On a limousine ride to Santa Ana, 5-year-old Michael Valle was surrounded by his brothers and sisters. "He's super excited," said his mother Monica Valle. "Super excited." Michael was about to have his dream fulfilled after fighting the battle of his young life. [click to view]

Video chat connecting those in isolation
John Templeton says his software is not about money, it's about helping people. For the past four years the Costa Mesa resident has been working on a video chat service he sees a number of uses for, including connecting isolated cancer patients with the outside world. [click to view]

Making Wishes Come True
Jetsun Jacobs' whole life changed at age 8 when suddenly his left eye stopped moving. He was diagnosed with bone cancer. The tumor the size of a lemon was discovered, but a heavy dose of medication wiped it away in six months. But the bouts of chemotherapy over the course of the next two years took their toll, making him incredibly tired.

That's when his whole life changed — again. [click to view]

Girl's wish to dance with her class comes true
WESTMINSTER – All 12-year-old My Phan wanted to do was dance with her class. On Friday afternoon, My, a fifth-grader at Finley Elementary School, did just that. She did it with a lot of help from Heidi Burns, who finished as one of the top four dancers on the Fox Network show "So You Think You Can Dance." [click to view]

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® Receives $1.1 Million Donation from Blizzard Entertainment
PHOENIX (Feb. 17, 2010) -- The Make-A-Wish Foundation today announced a $1.1 million donation from Blizzard Entertainment, a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. The donation is based on 50 percent of the total sales during November and December 2009 of a special in-game pet, the Pandaren Monk, for Blizzard's award-winning, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft®. [click to view]

The road from pre-med to Miss America
Cavinder, 21 and a USC graduate from Orange, will try to become the first Miss California to be crowned Miss America since 1983 when the annual pageant is held Saturday in Las Vegas. She is a Make-A-Wish volunteer. [click to view]

San Clemente gave architect of world's tallest building a foundation
Chance Mitchell, a 7-year-old with congenital heart failure, became fascinated with the Burj Khalifa after searching "tallest building" on YouTube and watching a clip about the structure being built in Dubai. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire made the boy, who has a hole in the wall separating his heart's right and left chambers, a 4-foot scale model of the Burj this summer. [click to view]

Winchester resident headed to Hawaii
Katsuki Obama isn't headed to Hawaii until next week, but a celebration at a Murrieta restaurant Saturday really drummed up excitement for the trip ---- literally. [click to view]

March units team up for Make-A-Wish tour
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- David's wish came true November 7 when he piloted a Predator and climbed aboard three March aircraft. David is a 12-year-old Costa Mesa boy with muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease characterized by the progressive deterioration of muscle. But the day wasn't about David's illness; it was about David living his dream. [click to view]

Menifee: Young 'farmer's' wish granted
Tristen has been enthralled with animals since he was 6 or 7 months old. Dogs. Donkeys. Pigs. You name it. If it has four legs, the Sun City boy with the cheeky grin is a fan. On Sunday, Tristen, a 5-year-old who has been battling leukemia for three years, was surrounded by a veritable menagerie during a Make-A-Wish Foundation event at the Bouris' family ranch in Menifee. And it looked like the young "farmer for the day" loved every minute of it. [click to view]

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