True
Making Wishes
come
On its 35th anniversary, Make-A-Wish Oklahoma sets goal to grant more wishes this year than ever before.
From left to right: Adrianne, Doyle, Rylan and Karslie Baker are making a family effort to help other wish children’s dreams come true. Photo by Hayley Leatherwood
“D By Hayley Leatherwood
inosaurs are real!” Rylan Baker exclaims to the captivated audi- ence. The charismatic 6-year-old has the attendees of Make-A-Wish Oklahoma’s 10th Annual Wish Luncheon hanging on his every
word. He proudly sticks out his chest, holding on to his pink suspenders, as he shares every dinosaur fact he learned on a recent adventure. In listening to this bright little boy speak, it’s hard to imagine a rare con- genital heart disease has greatly impacted Baker and his family. At 2 years old, Baker received the life-threatening diagnosis of Shone’s Syndrome. The family’s schedule shifted to prioritize doctor’s appointments and hospital stays, but a gift from Make-A-Wish Oklahoma provided a much-needed dose of normality. Through the organization, Baker’s wish to visit Jurassic Park at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, was granted. Adrianne Baker, Baker’s mother, says the wish was a gift for the entire family. “It made us feel normal for once,” Adrianne Baker says. “We were eating breakfast one day and I felt myself tearing up because we were not stressed, we were not in a hurry—we were just sitting together enjoying life.” Baker, along with his family, is one of 35 “Wish Champions” across the state helping Make-A-Wish Oklahoma celebrate its 35th Anniversary. The champions are comprised of wish kids, families, volunteers, supporters, friends and community partners. The organization’s goal is to grant a wish for all the eligible children in the state facing life-threatening conditions. Over the past three decades, more than 2,700 wishes like Baker’s have been granted. To continue making
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wishes happen, the organization is dreaming big. By March 2018, the not-for-profi t hopes to raise $350,000. Through a donation through Make-A-Wish America, every gift will be matched dol- lar-for-dollar up to $175,000. The Cotton Electric Charitable Foundation made a $5,000 grant to the program in honor of former CEO and current Wish Champion Warren Langford. The grant will be used to sponsor a wish child in the cooperative’s service territory. Langford’s grandson, Avett, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at just 2 years old. In August 2016, the family celebrated the successful end of chemo treatment, and Langford continues to express ap- preciation to Make-A-Wish Oklahoma for being a part of the winning fi ght. “Make-A-Wish gave Avett and my family much more than a short reprieve from the reality of cancer,” Langford says on his fundraising page. “Thousands of people joined our fi ght. It strengthened our faith and most importantly— renewed our hope.” Other rural electric cooperatives are helping the cause as well. Through
CKenergy Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up, a volunteer pro- gram in which members agree to have their utility bill “rounded up” to the next whole dollar amount, a $2,500 gift was granted to Make-A-Wish Oklahoma.
Grants like CKenergy’s will be used to contribute to funding for 160 wishes for deserving children this year. For families like the Bakers, the greatest gift was the simple joy of being together. “It was a week of being just a boy who loves dinosaurs and being happy with his family,” Adrianne Baker says. To help make a wish come true, visit
35for35MakeAWish.com.
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