The members of the Chestermere Lions Club are an amazing group of individuals who volunteer countless hours giving back. The Chestermere Lions Club was founded in 2003 and continues to grow its membership. The club actively raises funds and provides volunteer services throughout the year and is very active in the Chestermere community with both special events and on-going initiatives.
The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada is the largest of Canadian wish granting charities dedicated to granting wishes to Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. For more than 30 years, Children’s Wish has worked tirelessly to grant heartfelt wishes to more than 23,000 children and their families.
This year, the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada expects to grant over 1,000 new wishes across the country with the help of volunteers and generous donors; that is approximately three wishes each and every day, all year long. Each wish is the child’s most heartfelt wish, and carefully structured to meet the particular needs of the child and their family. Children’s Wish is a national charity with chapters in every province and territory.
On January 26, 2016, members of the Chestermere Lions Club presented a $1000 cheque to Kyla Martin Director – Alberta & N.W.T. with The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. Martin said, “The Children’s Wish Foundation is so thankful for the support from the Chestermere Lions Club! It is due to this generosity that we can continue our legacy of never denying an eligible child their most heartfelt wish and never having a waitlist for the wishes that need to happen as soon as possible”.
Martin added, “We have granted more than 20 wishes to children in Chestermere and Langdon area Lot of wishes; from Meeting Dora the Explorer, Disneyworld, Disney Cruise, Camping Trailer, Visit Hawaii to see the Volcanos. The average cost of a Wish $10,000”.
Madison shared with us a wish that was granted just before Christmas. Addison Kenneth is 16 years old and was granted a very out of this world wish. When Addison was just 3 years old, his journey of serious medical conditions began when he was experiencing up to 50 seizures a day. Through the years, Addison has ended up diagnosed with three unique diagnosis. The first was Lennox Gastaut (complex seizures), followed by Autism Spectrum disorder and finally a medical disorder known as Mitochondrial Disease. He now finds himself confined to a wheelchair, and has also lost his voice, ability to swallow which now requires him to be equipped with a feeding tube, his bowel/bladder no longer function effectively and he cannot regulate his body temperature. Throughout all of this, Addison used his love of Star Wars to keep his strength and courage while navigating through the daily challenges and endless doctor’s visits, testing, broken bones, concussions and surgeries.
Addison’s wish was to watch a private viewing of Star Wars with his family and friends. “We took it to the next level and had some “celebrities” attend and also wrapped his families van as the Millennium Falcon. After the movie was over, we had arranged a Police Escort to the Stollery Children’s Hospital so he could share his wish with some of his friends that were not able to attend the viewing. It was an incredible day!” explained Martin.
Currently, The Children’s Wish Foundation is experiencing unprecedented increases of wish referrals through their strong medical community relationships for the wishes granted to children with life-threatening illnesses. Now more than ever, they are encouraging people to donate and support The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada to help them continue to grant the next most heartfelt wish. Visit www.childrenswish.ca or call 403-265-9039 for more information and to donate.
