Make A Wish Foundation Employees Reveal The Most Unique Requests They've Received
Make A Wish Foundation Employees Reveal The Most Unique Requests They've Received
[rebelmouse-image 18352368 is_animated_gif=The Make a Wish Foundation has been making wishes a reality for ailing and dying children for decades. They have selflessly united young people with their heroes, mentors and favorite humans and have granted the recipients and their loved ones fantastic trips and dreams they would not normally have been able to experience. All so that the suffering can still hold onto a shred of hope in the face of sadness. It's truly an astonishing organization that makes the lives of some just a bit more bearable.
Redditor _\_u/SkydiverTyler _*wanted to know *_Redditors who work for the Make A Wish Foundation, what is the most unique and/or mundane thing you heard a kid wished for?
LASSO THE HERD!
I'm a volunteer and had an Amish kid about 6 get a wagon for their family horse and is excited to drive it next year because he can at 7 in their family
YOU ASKED FOR IT...
[rebelmouse-image 18352370 is_animated_gif=I used to intern for Make A Wish and vacations were extremely common. They really take into consideration the kids' interests and try to incorporate as much as possible into the wishes as they can afford to.
The most mundane thing I helped plan was for a kid that wanted new bedroom furniture. I mean, if she wants bedroom furniture, we're gonna get her bedroom furniture. But the style she loved was like 80s/90s wood furniture you'd find at grandma's house. We triple checked with her and her family. It's what she wanted.. so it's what she got.
BRINGING THE MOVIES TO YOU!
[rebelmouse-image 18352371 is_animated_gif=We had a make a wish kid come into our store at my old job. We designed home theaters for our clients. He wanted a home theater but make-a-wish only willing to provide us with $5,000 to make it work. What he wanted to do would cost about double that at minimum.
One of the other employees I worked with used to do home theater installations for Geek Squad so he offered to go out and do the installation for free instead of having our regular installers do the work. Another one of my co-workers donated an older set of speakers for the project, and we convinced him to do a decent TV instead of the projector for budgetary reasons. We cut him some good discounts and made the whole thing work with the money we were given. He was thrilled all said and done.
WE LOVE SHAQ!
[rebelmouse-image 18352372 is_animated_gif=I volunteered for Make A Wish about 15 years ago in LA. I took a few kids hiking and one wanted to learn how to surf. Meeting celebrities and athletes was fun.
Shaquille O'Neal was incredibly awesome with the kids and families. He would spend well beyond his allotted time often sometimes to the chagrin of coaches when he was supposed to be in meetings or practice. He favorite thing to do was lift the kid up to the rim to dunk the ball. A few times he paid for the entire medical treatment but wanted no publicity. Great guy and absolutely massive
READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP?
[rebelmouse-image 18352373 is_animated_gif=Obligatory I don't work for make-a-wish. My little sister wished to be in her favorite show "Heartland" and she got to be an extra in a minor scene. They sent our family to Calgary, we got a tour of the studio, we met the makeup and costume crew who got her all countried up and amber marshal came to the set to meet my sister even though amber wasn't required on set that day. My sister got sat at the bar behind a couple characters and was given a glass of milkshake. It was actually magical and a big bright spot in what had been an awful time in our lives.
WALK THE PLANK!
[rebelmouse-image 18978538 is_animated_gif=I use to live in SoCal and my husband and I always saw a Make A Wish kid there.
One kid didn't just want to go to Disneyland.
He wanted to go to Disneyland, become a lost boy with Peter Pan, and fight Captain Hook.
Disney let the kid fight Captain Hook and his pirate gang on his own private boat with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
NO JAWS.... HOW ABOUT FLIPPER?
[rebelmouse-image 18978539 is_animated_gif=I wanted to swim with sharks. They said no because it would be bad PR if I got eaten.
So I got to swim with a blind dolphin in Hawaii. That was fun though.
THANK YOU MY PRECIOUS...
[rebelmouse-image 18978540 is_animated_gif=One of my son's friends had a little brother with brain cancer who loved Lord of the Rings. Luckily, they had just started filming The Hobbit down in New Zealand. Make A Wish paid for the entire family to fly down to New Zealand and hang out on set for a couple of days. Ian McKellen and Luke Evans were super friendly.
Chemo saved his life and when each of the three Hobbit movies came out, his family organized Make A Wish fundraiser showings. And at each one of the three Fundraisers, multiple actors including Luke Evans and Ian McKellen would record a new video message for the kid and the attendees.
TOUCHDOWN!!
[rebelmouse-image 18978541 is_animated_gif=Had a family friend wish for a football. Just a regular old pigskin. He was three and nearly died from brain cancer, so he was didn't comprehend the scale of it.
Make A Wish gave him a signed football (I want to say from Frank Gore or another 49er?) and sent the entire family to Disneyland right before his dad got deployed to Iraq.
BEYONCE CAN GET YOU RED LOBSTER QUICKER!
[rebelmouse-image 18978542 is_animated_gif=I interned for a Make-a-Wish branch in college for a semester. The vast majority of wishes were to go to Disney World, but there were some memorable ones.
One kid asked to go to Best Buy and Red Lobster, which we all thought was kind of funny, but he got a shopping spree at Best Buy and hopefully got some cool stuff!
One wish just read "Mickey with Marshmallows." I didn't see what it ended up being, but I don't see how it could have gone wrong.
One kid wanted to travel along the Orient Express.
One girl wanted to be a "puppy doctor," which was adorable if only for its phrasing.
There were also lots of room makeovers, concerts/sports events, vacations to Hawaii/France/etc. It was a cool gig!
Arkansas High School Suspends Student Paper For Publishing 'Disruptive' Investigation Into Shady Football Transfers
Halle Roberts is the editor-in-chief of the Har-Ber Herald, the school newspaper for Springdale High School in Arkansas. The 17-year-old student was suspended after she wrote an investigative piece criticizing the transfer of five football players to a rival school.
Players are not allowed to be transferred to a different school because they would like to play for a different team. They are allowed to transfer only for academic reasons. So Roberts got to digging. Her paper filed FOIA requests and received official information from the Arkansas Activities Association saying that the students were transferred for academic reasons. However, the students themselves said otherwise.
Roberts quoted one student in her paper saying:
"We just want to go over there because we have a better chance of getting scholarships and playing at D1."
Another student told Roberts:
"I just feel like it's better for my future to go out there and get college looks."
Soon after the report was published, the superintendent of the district, Jim Rollins, asked the teacher advisor for the school paper, Karla Sprague, to take the story down. She obliged.
Rollins wrote a letter stating that the piece was:
"intentionally negative, demeaning, derogatory, hurtful and potentially harmful to the students addressed in those articles."
Roberts, undeterred, is still working on a new edition of the story that includes the school's censorship.
Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center had this to say:
And Halle Roberts, who dreams of being an ESPN reporter, stated:
People were impressed with Roberts.
Some had harsh words for the school's administration.
And most had high praise for Roberts and the other student journalists working on this piece.
And Halle Roberts herself closed by saying:
Fight on, Halle!
High School Administration Under Fire For Breaking Into A Bathroom Stall While Transgender Student Was Using It
Cece is a 16-year-old transgender girl from Maple Grove, Minnesota.
She is a student at Osseo Senior High School and recently had a traumatic experience at school.
On Wednesday, Cece posted two videos, one of which is very disturbing, to her Facebook regarding an incident she experienced.
While Cece was using the bathroom at school, staff forced their way into the stall she was in.
Again, Cece is 16 years old.
Her post reads:
"SCHOOL OSSEO SEINOR HIGH 🚨
I Guess I Can't Use The Girls Bathroom Just Because I'm Transgender 😔 Share This & MAKE IT GO VIRAL ‼️ I Been Violating By Principal and Admin and Hallmonters
This Was Today 11/28/18 🕚 Ms Smith Had Nothing To Do With This"
One video showed all of the school officials she wanted to publicly name who participated in the incident.
The other showed the actual incident.
Cece's self-recorded video shows her sitting on the toilet with her pants down while a school official uses a makeshift device to reach over the stall to unlock the door.
A spokesperson for Osseo Schools stated:
"Social media posts are significantly misrepresenting the incident and that staff works very hard every day to help ensure an inclusive school where all students feel welcome, respected and safe."
They refused to comment further saying:
"We wish we could provide additional details about this incident but are committed to protecting the student's right to data privacy."
Some reports claim that Cece had previously been told not to use the women's restroom.
However, in 2017 the Minnesota Department of Education (MDOE) ruled in favor of students like Cece.
MDOE guidance states:
"Transgender and gender nonconforming students should be afforded the opportunity to use the restroom of their choice."
People also can not help but note the fact that at age 16, Cece is a minor.
Adults forcing themselves into her stall while she used the bathroom is even more appalling.

Regardless of the unknown circumstances, the internet is outraged over the adult school staff's actions.
Cece's video and story has indeed gone viral. But what happens now remains to be seen.
H/T: Pink News, Facebook, Daily Dot, Bring Me The News
George R.R. Martin Just Confirmed A Popular 'Game Of Thrones' Fan Theory About White Walkers
Game of Thrones scribe George R.R. Martin is promoting his new book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and provided insight into a group of characters fans have been waiting to learn more about.
As an author known to inject symbolism into the fantastical worlds he creates, Martin revealed that the icy group of White Walkers from Game of Thrones personified climate change.
What the ancient humanoid race of icy creatures stand for is a concept many have theorized all along.
Now fans received confirmation from the author himself.
Martin may have prognosticated climate change while he was writing GoT. The cold that transcends upon Westeros sounds eerily familiar.
"It's kind of ironic," Martin told the New York Times.
"Because I started writing 'Game of Thrones' all the way back in 1991, long before anybody was talking about climate change."
"But there is — in a very broad sense — there's a certain parallel there. And the people in Westeros are fighting their individual battles over power and status and wealth."
He added:
"And those are so distracting them that they're ignoring the threat of 'winter is coming,' which has the potential to destroy all of them and to destroy their world."
"And there is a great parallel there to, I think, what I see this planet doing here, where we're fighting our own battles. We're fighting over issues, important issues, mind you — foreign policy, domestic policy, civil rights, social responsibility, social justice. All of these things are important."
Martin continued:
"But while we're tearing ourselves apart over this and expending so much energy, there exists this threat of climate change, which, to my mind, is conclusively proved by most of the data and 99.9 percent of the scientific community. And it really has the potential to destroy our world."
"And we're ignoring that while we worry about the next election and issues that people are concerned about, like jobs."
Marten stressed the importance of caring for the environment, adding that protecting it should be a top priority.
"So really, climate change should be the number one priority for any politician who is capable of looking past the next election."
"We spend 10 times as much energy and thought and debate in the media discussing whether or not N.F.L. players should stand for the national anthem than this threat that's going to destroy our world."
When the author was asked if he could "pick the best real-world, present-day match — politicians, celebrities" and pair them up with corresponding characters from his novels, Martin answered: "Pass."
Fire and Blood: 300 Years Before a Game of Thrones, is expected to be released on November 20.
H/T - NYtimes, Twitter, Mentalfloss
This Brand's Tweet History Is A Hilariously Fitting Representation Of A Brand's Life Cycle 😂
Carl's Croutons tried their hand at social media to advance their brand.
But their objective got derailed when their tweet ignited a confusing thread that sent everyone down the rabbit hole.
@topherflorence captured highlights from the thread that received over three thousand retweets for its zaniness alone.
Can you follow?
The bread crumbs company endeavored to stir excitement for the brand by encouraging participation with the following tweet:
"Taking our first steps on the www!! tell us your favorite crouton recipes! #croutons #yum"
Harmless, right?

But somewhere along the way, the brand mixed business with politics. @religiousgames noticed that Carl's Croutons issued a one-word directive: vote.
The Twitter user asked, "What does it mean?"
Did the Carl's Croutons account manager get his social media account wires crossed? Possibly. But then we're not sure.
@topherflorence responded by saying, "lol that wasn't me i would posted something way dumber."
The following tweet from Carl's Croutons attempted damage control:
"Carl's Crutons [sic] regrets the inappropriate tweet from earlier and we sincerely apologize to the people of The Republic of Malta."

So how did Carl's Croutons insult the Republic of Malta?
@Bestorb shed some light on why the Southern European island country may have been insulted by sharing a YouTube clip of episode 1008, "Final Justice," from Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Did it have something to do with the country's dominant population of women?
The thread spun off in all different directions.


There were many takeaways from the esoteric thread, but the one directive really stood out.
There's still an unanswered question.
So who is Carl's Croutons anyway? Nobody knows. Just vote.
















