Stepping towards a wish-come-true

October 1, 2006 - Sunday was one of the most meaningful opportunities I have had as Miss Michigan thus far - the Ann Arbor Walk-for-Wishes at "the Big House'. When we first arrived, we had plenty of time to mingle with the walkers, take in the beautiful fall day and enjoy lunch donated by Buffalo Wild Wings. After that, I visited with the folks from Coldstone Creamery for the second day in a row! Their support of Make-A-Wish is incredible - fortunately I was able to walk it off later that day.

I was honored to be a small part of a very touching opening ceremony. The Foundation usually invites wish families to partake in these events so that the walkers have a deeper sense of purpose as they walk and the families can share their incredible stories and gratitude. None was quite as incredible as that of 'Mighty Matt,' an energetic 8-year-old Michigan fan who passed away shortly after receiving his most heart-felt wish in that very stadium, almost one year ago to the day. To read about mat's story, please see the post entitled "Mighty Matt."

After the opening ceremony, the walkers were off! Terri Doodge (my fabulous traveling companion) may never accompany me to another event again! I warned here that we would be walking the 5K but I forgot to mention how many hills there are in Ann Arbor! (Sorry Terri) Fortunately, I had to be back to the stadium early to prepare for the closing ceremony so we only walked half the route. We made it back with plenty of time to review the script with Susan Lerch, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan President and CEO, and Mark from Ann Arbor's 107 One and media sponsor for the event.

In addition, we were fortunate to have with us one of Michigan's first wish-recipients, Derrick.
In 1985, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan granted his wish to meet his favorite Detroit Tiger, Lance Parrish. Today, Derrick is a successful, cancer-free, freelance film and photography artist. During the closing ceremony, he shared with us how much a wish-come-true had meant for him during one of the biggest trials of his life. His presence was just one example of his continued appreciation for the work that the Foundation does and we were grateful to have him back. During the closing ceremony, I had the privilege of introducing Paul and Amelia to the hundreds of people who had walked to make their wishes come true. Paul will soon be experimenting with the wildly popular duo on the Discovery channels "Mythbusters" and Amelia will finally experience the peace and beauty of Hawaii with her family.

Finally, thank you to all of you who helped me raise more than $800 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! My personal fundraising total was added to those of the many UM Stars members who also come out to walk. A big congratulations to UM Stars Team for being named the top fundraising school group for the 2007 Ann Arbor Walk-for-Wishes!