GRANTED WISH TESTIMONIALS

A MOTHER'S LOVE

"To the dear friends of The Granted Wish Foundation. It is with deep gratitude that I send this letter and as well as the phone call. Thank you for the gift of the heater for Ronald Schroeder. Your kindness of love will always be appreciated. It is people like you who make the world a wonderful place to live. You are truly a blessing from God to help someone in need. you will always be remembered in our prayers for the great work you are doing. If at any time I can do anything for the foundation please feel free to ask. May God bless you and your Foundation for all that you are doing."

With love in Christ, Mary Basye

"To the staff of The Granted Wish Foundation. Words cannot express your kindness and love for the gift of the oak Heat Surge unit that I am receiving. It is nice to know that there are still people like you to help someone in need. My thanks goes to my mother for writing on my behalf. about my illness. I'm happy you are naming the request, "A Mother's Love." We will be searching the internet for the letter. I think God for the healing power he has given me in the time of illness. You can be sure that I will express my feelings to others for the good work you do by helping so many people in need such as myself. May God Bless you for all your good deeds."

Yours truly, Ronald Schroeder

THE CAT'S MEOW

"The 2 Heat Surge units donated to Tourniquet, Inc, (DBA "Cats Purrfect Rescue) by The Granted Wish Foundation are fantastic! The warmth emitted by the units at both levels, low and high is safe to the touch. Subsequently, the cats and kittens at our facility can sit or romp anywhere around the heater, in front of the heater or on top of the mantle and be safe and protected at all times.

Unlike traditional heaters used in the past, (that posed single burn problems if the cats got too close) the heat surge units provide excellent heat with no threat of harm, no matter how close the kitties get to the units! In addition to the important safety feature, the heat Surge units are aesthetic! The simulated fireplace, with mantle, lends beauty to anywhere it’s positioned in any setting! These units blend in to create a warm, cozy, homey atmosphere –just "purrfect" for the cats at our shelter!

Many winter days will be spent in radiant safe warmth at our facility due to the generous donation of two Heat Surge units donated by The Granted Wish Foundation! Our "warm" gratitude is eternal!"

With Much Appreciation for your compassion, Jacqueline D'Elia

LOOKING THROUGH THE “EYES” OF LOVE

"I was once asked, "What makes life worth living?" At the time I really didn't put much thought into the answer of "Having fun and dying young!" I believe that phrase was more of a quip retort, chock full of sarcasm from my youth, but the phrase does still hold value in its' first half.

Every day in life, we all come across some form of hardship, bad news, or life changing events, whether it's in our own eyes, in our own lives, or in the lives of others. Many people choose to ignore these sad but ultimately true and real situations in our lives as well of those in the rest of the human race.

There are, however, some people that find a sense of joy and compassion for others that you cannot put into words. I was lucky enough to meet with several of these fine people when I was offered the opportunity to have corrective laser eye surgery, free of charge.

My name is Patrick McGuinness. I was born with a degenerative genetic disorder called Cystic Fibrosis or CF for short. The disorder over time affects your lungs, pancreas and intestines. In its' later stages it becomes a debilitating disorder. I have been fortunate enough to be able to maintain a medication and dietary regimen that has kept me out of the hospital for most of my life. I have however had a few slip ups along the way, during which I had accrued a substantial medical debt.

Federally funded programs for disorders such as CF are slim to none, so it was difficult to get support for my medical debt, until I was accepted for Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps, or BCMH for short. Over the past several years the government has tried changing the benefits coverage for this plan. The most widely effecting change was the elimination of all coverage for patients 21 and older. Since genetic disorders worsen overtime, this was in complete contradiction to logic, but was being planned on anyway.

My family and I took it upon ourselves, with the help of countless others to go to Columbus, Ohio and testify in front of the Senate Committee to petition this drastic change that would have practically put us on our death beds. During the next year after the changes were nullified I was featured in the Akron Beacon Journal twice, as follow ups. One of these articles sparked the interest of one of the team members at Granted Wish.

I was contacted by my Mom, who was contacted by a reporter from the Akron Beacon Journal, because they had received a phone call asking for permission to talk with me by Granted Wish. My Mom was kind enough to call them back and discuss my medical history and tentative future with them. After their talk, they asked my Mom if there was anything that I enjoyed doing, or if there was anything that they could help me with.

My Moms' response to that was "You know, he has a lot of medical issues, but there's only one that he can fix." She was talking about my eyes. I have always wanted Lasik eye surgery, because that truly is the one thing I could fix.

Immediately they responded with "Let us make a phone call." Within a matter of a day or two they had set me up for an end to end surgical consult, preparation, surgery, and post surgery care.

Many people say they can't say enough about, or put into words their feelings for the people who have helped them, that have saved them, or about the heroes in this world that have effected them. That stands true for me when I look back at the selflessness, and undying care for others every single person from Granted Wish, Aultman Hospitals, and Dr. Karns showed me the short time I had the true privilege of spending with them.

The surgery and recovery was a 100% success, I now have 20/15 vision and can check off one victory for team Pat, thanks to the people that have become my family for the rest of my life. If ever there is a call to answer, it is that of volunteerism and I will answer that call if ever it comes from the people of Granted Wish, Aultman Hospitals or the offices of Dr. Karns.

I wish to finish by leaving you with a quite befitting quote. "It is not who you are that people will remember, but rather your actions, in this life and the next."

God bless every one of you, and may there always be a silver lining even in your darkest cloud."

Sincerely, Patrick McGuinness

ADOPT A FAMILY (2007)

"My Dear Granted Wish Foundation: How can my husband and I thank you enough for all that you have done this Christmas Eve. As you know, we are a treatment foster home and have 7 children. Three of our children are biological and the other 4 children are our foster children. We love what we do and it keeps us busy but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Like your organization, we love to give back and this was the way the Lord called us to do so. We want you to know how much we appreciate all you did for us this holiday season. The smiles on our children's faces will be remembered forever. We loved watching every minute of the wrapping paper flying everywhere and them asking, "How did you know I wanted This!" God sure is good to his people. That's all I can say. The people who did the shopping did a great job; please thank them for us. What an act of love and kindness from them. They took time out of their busy season to love others they don't even know! The giving is beyond anything we could have ever expected. We are moved beyond words. The food you brought us lasted a while and was Soooo good. We were able to share the "wealth." We invited some families over that are unemployed this holiday season. They were blown away at the fact we could serve them shrimp while the turkey finished cooking. Last minute placements we received right before Christmas. We were able to share with them how God loves us all the same and that we can never take any of it for granted. Ha Ha….Granted Wish. Now that's funny!

Anyway, we wanted to thank you all for making this season so special for our family, it has not gone unnoticed or by any means un-appreciated. We have shared with all our children that they are loved and are good enough to be loved. Some of our children couldn't understand why anyone would give them something without anything in return. Some of our children have come from very difficult places and found it hard to receive these gifts for themselves. They are treating their gifts very well and appreciated them everyday. At night, while they are sleeping in their Superman and Princess sheets, they pray for your Foundation and pray blessing over all who were a part of this seasons giving.

The love you have show goes farther than you may realize. You have just moved, touched, and blessed the next generation. You have put hope and happiness in our children's hearts and for that we thank you from the bottom of ours!!"

With Great Appreciation, The Postlewaits