Millions of Americans have taken to running, and with the popularized hobby comes the opportunity to give back to organizations like Make-A-Wish.
The foundation’s story began more than four decades ago, inspired by 7-year-old Chris Greicius, who was battling leukemia and dreamed of becoming a police officer.
In 1980, his Phoenix community came together to make his wish come true.
“Sadly Chris did pass away after his big day, but his mom and the officers who granted his wish stayed in touch and sort of felt like, this was something special, and if we could do this for Chris, there's probably other kids out there," Suzanne Hughesby, Make-A-Wish San Diego CEO said.
Forty-five years later, that idea has grown into something more.
Over 60,000 wishes have been granted nationwide and over 5,000 right here in San Diego.
Each wish costing about $10,000, all funded by the community.
"We don't receive any federal funding, so every dollar that we raise has been given by someone in this community to help a child in our neighborhood," Hughesby said.
And that’s where partnerships come in. For the past nine years, Kaiser Permanente has teamed up with Make-A-Wish, hosting the Thrive Half Marathon and 5K, raising more than $100,000 to grant wishes for local kids.
"Every participant is helping support wishes, not only raising funds, critical funds, to grant wishes, but also just raising awareness that make wishes here in the community,” Hughesby said.
Because for every child who’s fought a tough battle, sometimes, a wish is the motivation they need to keep going.
“I think there's a big misconception that every child we serve is at end of life, which is actually not the case," Hughesby said. "The vast majority of kids go on to live long beyond their wish experience and actually often medical professionals and parents alike kind of credit the wish itself with being that positive turning point that helped their child power through what they're dealing with. So a wish really is very impactful,” Hughesby said.
