BUFFALO, N.Y. — The pandemic hasn't stopped critical illness in kids, but it also hasn't stopped Make-A-Wish Western New York from bringing them and their families hope through life-changing wishes, either.
A group of student leaders from all three Williamsville High Schools are setting out to raise enough money to grant six wishes for kids in their own school community this spring. Each school is organizing and its own fundraisers as part of the "Willpower for Wishes" campaign, which runs through World Wish Day on April 29.
A little more than a week after they launched their campaign, they've raised more than $15,000 of their sixty thousand dollar goal.
"Each wish is about $10,000 average to grant, so we're hoping to grant all six wishes in the community," Djai Pawlowski, a Williamsville North Senior told 2 On Your Side.
"Typically, Make-A-Wish grants trips as wishes, that's a big percentage of their wishes granted," said South Senior Katie Hall. "This year, obviously they're struggling to send kids on trips because it's not safe, so we're raising money for more like "at-home" wishes."
"It's been a tough year for everyone, so we wanted to find ways to connect the hybrid and remote students," East Sophomore Colleen Meosky said. "We also just wanted to do something good for our community and Make-A-Wish seemed like a great opportunity because we had six kids within the district who wanted to have wishes."
The phrase "Willpower" has united the Williamsville district while they have been separated by the pandemic. It's a phrase that now carries a lot of meaning for its students.
"Willpower definitely means to keep going during difficult times, and having that mindset that you can still go and get through those difficult times together," Williamsville East Junior Kennedy Intahar said.
"For a lot of kids, this year hasn't been a great year," North Senior Grady Andrews said. "Especially as a senior, we haven't had a lot of the senior experiences we're used to, and this is a great thing that the entire school and the district as a whole can come around."
Abby Leonardi, a senior at Williamsville South, is taking pride in the fact that this is a district-wide initiative.
"The thirteen schools really don't connect very often," she said. "We have the three high schools and the middle schools and the elementary level, but it's very rare that we all have a united purpose and force towards something, so I think that's really special too. It shows what kind of district we are, and it shows how we really care about these kids and we want to make their year a little bit better."
Make-A-Wish representatives say the funds will go a long way in helping them find new creative ways to grant wishes during a pandemic.
"Partnerships like this, they're always so critical for us fulfilling our mission, but in a time of need this, this, it's just incredible to see a community, a school community coming together to grant local wishes," Development Manager Mary Hazel said.
"During COVID, there's been so many restrictions that's been limiting the type of wishes we've been able to grant. No travel wishes, but we have been working so closely with our wish families, and we have been able to continue since last March, granting really meaningful, life-changing wishes," she continued.
To contribute to the campaign, you can make a direct donation through the Make-A-Wish WNY website, or purchase a piece of Willpower merchandise, where net proceeds will be donated to the campaign.