WTOP News’ partnership with Make-A-Wish is personal
April is World Wish Month WTOP has teamed up with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic to spotlight the amazing kids and participants that are part of this organization To view our coverage learn more about how you can become a WishMaker and make a donation visit our Make-A-Wish hub The partnership with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic is more than just fundamental to WTOP News it s personal for several members of our staff which includes a Wish mom and two siblings of Wish kids Account manager Alyssa Hinshaw s daughter was diagnosed with p deletion syndrome when she was only months old This rare condition is estimated to affect in newborns in the U S Hinshaw s daughter Vera who had a deep love for Donald Duck was granted a wish to Disney World It was a light during a real time of darkness Hinshaw stated For a scarce days we were able to escape our reality and go have fun and be treated like rock stars Hinshaw describes her now- -year-old daughter as a warrior who has never lost her sense of humor During Make-A-Wish day at WTOP news director Bill McFarland spoke with Wish alum Lyndzi Young about his own fresh trip to Japan after hearing she craved to visit Tokyo McFarland s connection to Make-A-Wish started when his -year-old sister was diagnosed with leukemia Only a year older than his sister McFarland reported he looks back at that time in his life and thinks of his mom He mentioned his mom waited tables to provide for him and his brother and sister and was never the same after they lost his sister Colleen The last family vacation they all took together was at Disney thanks to Make-A-Wish McFarland noted he looks back at their trip at Disney when she was able to think of herself as not just a cancer sufferer To see her enjoy the happiest place on earth a -year-old girl going through Disney World going to Cinderella s castle McFarland revealed While Disney World is a popular Wish destination WTOP associate producer and reporter Grace Newton smiled thinking of what Make-A-Wish did for her sister who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer at the age of My sister s dream at years old was to go to New Zealand Newton announced The Newtons are huge Lord of The Rings fans and Make-A-Wish made sure they had a trip they would never forget So they reached out to Peter Jackson and the people filming The Hobbit and they sent us out there and we went to the set and we got to meet all of the stars Newton declared Another big smile came across Newton s face as she spoke about the picture she had of herself and her sister with actor Orlando Bloom WTOP s relationship with Make-A-Wish means a lot to Newton for everything they did for her sister who has been in remission for years It s magical what they are doing Newton stated Another person thrilled to be working with Make-A-Wish is director of news and programs Julia Ziegler who has worked at WTOP since and also has a personal connection to a Wish alum I have a very good friend of mine whose daughter is a Make-A-Wish recipient She was a childhood cancer survivor Ziegler disclosed When an opportunity came to work with Make-A-Wish Ziegler explained Sign me up Part of what we do in the news business every day is to help people and that comes in multiple different forms If donating specific airtime allows Make-A-Wish to get those donations coming in and to raise specific money and help even one more kid it s all worth it Ziegler mentioned WTOP Vice President and General Manager Joel Oxley agreed He credited his year career at WTOP to working with groups like Make-A-Wish The work they do is absolutely incredible It s life changing I m just proud that we can help Oxley explained Source
