2008 Woodie Awards
Chi-O's 'Make a Wish' come true
Patrick Armstrong
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Features
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Assistant Features Editor
"When you wish upon a star/ Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires/ Will come to you," are the first lines from the famous song "When You Wish Upon A Star" from the Disney classic, "Pinocchio." It is about a little wooden boy whose dream is to become a real boy. With the help of his friend, Jiminy Cricket, his dream comes true and he becomes a real boy.
A 13-year-old boy from Springfield, Tenn. has a wish to go on a Caribbean cruise. His name is Hunter Barnes and he has an autoimmune deficiency disease.
"Like a bolt out of the blue/ Fate steps in and sees you through/ When your wish upon a star/ Your dreams come true;" the ladies of the Chi Omega Women's Fraternity, Sigma Kappa Chapter, helped to make this boy's dream come true with the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
On Sept. 22, the Chi-O's organized a surprise party for Hunter and many fraternities, other sororities and student organizations stopped by to show their support.
When he came through the door of the Chi Omega house, he said that what went through his mind was "Oh crap what have I gotten myself into." When he found out that the Chi-O's were there to grant his wish, a smile came over his face.
Hunter's family found out in July that his wish was being granted and they had to keep it a secret. "I am glad he knows now," said Angela Barnes, Hunter's mother. "I kind of knew because my sister was talking about it one day," said Hunter.
His Caribbean cruise is set for Oct. 6 to Oct. 13 and includes going to Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.
He also recieved many gifts from campus fraternities such as Austin Peay State University gear to wear to the Homecoming game, New England Patriots memorabilia, a Nashville Predators jersey and gift cards.
The Chi-O's had been raising and saving funds for about three years to grant their chapter's first wish. Most of the money raised for Make-A-Wish came from their Chi-O Cares week where fraternities donate money and try to win the week in the spring.
"We let it accumulate to give all $5,000 at the same time," said Chi Omega president, Megan Cleghern.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting wishes since 1980. They grant the wishes of children with life-treating medical conditions. There are four steps to granting a wish. It starts with a referral where medical professionals, parents and children can nominate a child. The age limit for a child to be eligible for a wish is 18.
The next step is medical eligibility. The child must be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition. The Make-A-Wish foundation will talk with the family's physician to determine when the wish should be granted, as well as any treatment protocol.
The third step is finding out what the child's dream is. A team is assembled to try to find out what they want their wish to be.
The final step is the child receiving the wish and creating an unforgettable memory.
Some of the most common wishes include "I wish to go . . .," "I wish to be . . .," "I wish to meet . . .," and "I wish to have . . ." Many wish to go on vacation to some exotic land, meet their favorite singer or to be a firefighter for a day.
It takes about $5,000 to grant a wish. Since the beginning of the the Make-A-Wish foundation, over 144,000 wishes have been granted. It is estimated that a wish is granted every 41 minutes.
With it being Homecoming, Hunter got another surprise. Chi Omega and Alpha Gamma Rho built a float together this year and Hunter got to ride on their Batmobile float with them.
When asked what his favorite superhero was, he said, "Superman because he is awesome." At the game Hunter got a roaring applause when they announced that his wish had come true.
Hunter's face was beaming with a smile all afternoon. It is hard to believe that this innocent child has a terminal disease but what the women of Chi Omega did for him, will truly have an impact on him and his family for years to come.
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