(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Granting wishes

Make-A-Wish fundraiser raises $166K for Sask. families

Jun 7, 2024 | 12:30 PM

Prince Albert’s Ellie Boyenko says the gift her family received from Make-A-Wish is truly special.

She and her nine-year-old daughter Kinley were among those in attendance on Thursday during a fundraising event in Saskatoon. The full day event at the Willows Golf Club included both a mixed and ladies golf tournament, as well as a banquet and live auction.

By day’s end, $166,000 was raised and during the auction itself, which included tickets to an NHL game and an autographed jersey (Kevin Korchinski), five separate people bid $10,000. Three of which came from Wish families, and the other two were Aggressive Drilling and Synergy 8 Community Group.

Last December, Kinley’s wish to go Disneyland was granted. At an early age she was diagnosed with both cerebral palsy and a rare genetic disorder that only 12 people in the world have. At this stage of her life, the future remains very much uncertain and so her mother noted it was just really special to have something for the family that was all about fun.

“We do a lot of trips for therapy, which involves a lot of long plans rides, a lot of sitting in treated rooms and things like that so to be able to go and have this trip where we didn’t have to worry about anything aside from getting our passports and packing our bags, was just a special treat for our family,” Ellie said.

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Paige Hansen, is originally from Sturgess, but recently moved to Saskatoon for school. She was only 18 months old when she diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and around three years old was introduced to Make-A-Wish.

“I went in and I looked at all the pictures on the wall and little me, who wasn’t allowed to play with other people because I was very sick, I saw a young girl with a playhouse so that caught my eye,” she said.

A high school in Saskatoon made the two-story house for her and since the age of 5, Hansen has been giving back through public speaking and volunteering.

“It feels really good what the foundation brought to me, what they did for me at an early age. There’s nothing like it and it made my whole cancer journey and my illness so much easier. It gave me hope, it gave me excitement, it gave me something to look forward to,” she said.

Hansen, now 19, has been cancer-free for 10 years and in remission for 15.

Kimberly Enge, the Make-A-Wish chapter advisory board chair for Saskatchewan, noted Thursdays golf tournament is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year and follows a a similar event that was held in Regina.

“We are raising up and over $200,00 between Regina and Saskatoon which is a major contribution towards the ability to greats wishes to much need critically ill children across the province,” she said.

In 2023, life-changing wishes were granted to 1,389 wish kids and their families. (Facebook/ MAW Saskatchewan)

In Saskatchewan, there are currently 200 wishes waiting to be granted and the average wish costs between $10,000 and $15,000. Enge acknowledged the feedback they receive from families is heart warming, adding their strategic pillars are based on a desire to raise money and grant wishes.

“Every time we have an opportunity to work with these families and work with volunteers and sponsors, it’s really heart warming and to see the outcome makes it all worth it. It’s truly special,” she said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell