make-a-wish

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Michael Jordan Marks His 60th With Record Donation

He's giving $10M to Make-A-Wish Foundation

(Newser) - Michael Jordan is celebrating a big birthday with a big present to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which he has supported for decades. The NBA legend, who turns 60 on Friday, is giving $10 million to the nonprofit; that's the biggest donation from an individual in its 43-year history, ABC reports....

'Make-a-Wish' Mom Enters Plea in Daughter's Death

Colorado's Kelly Turner pleads guilty, could see 16 years for lying about 7-year-old's terminal illness

(Newser) - Update: A Colorado mother has pleaded guilty to child abuse and negligently causing her daughter's death in a case that made national headlines, reports the Denver Post . Prosecutors say Kelly Turner lied about her daughter being terminally ill, which led to years of unneeded and life-threatening medical treatments for...

Make-A-Wish Says It's Not Denying Unvaccinated Children

Edited video inspires criticism online

(Newser) - The Make-A-Wish Foundation is disputing what it calls a misinformation campaign about whether children who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 will be eligible to have their wishes granted. The foundation says these children are in fact still eligible, the AP reports. An edited video of Make-A-Wish Foundation CEO Richard Davis...

7-Year-Old Motorcycle Cop Inspired Make-a-Wish Founder

Frank Shankwitz planned organization while an Arizona Highway Patrol officer

(Newser) - An Arizona Highway Patrol officer was called back to headquarters one day in 1980 and told about a 7-year-old boy who wanted to be a motorcycle officer when he grew up. The boy had end-stage leukemia. A police helicopter picked up the boy at the hospital and took him to...

Ex-'Most Interesting Man' Picks Most Interesting Beard

Jonathan Goldsmith helps with hairy decision in Vermont contest

(Newser) - The man who once pitched Dos Equis beer as the "most interesting man in the world" turned his attention from his favorite beer to his favorite beard by judging a Saturday competition called Vermont Beardies. Jonathan Goldsmith, who lives in Manchester and sports a closely cropped white beard that...

6-Year-Old's Wish Granted: to Be a Garbage Man

Make-A-Wish helps little boy obsessed with garbage trucks

(Newser) - Ethan Dean lived his dream on Tuesday. The 6-year-old has a garbage truck bedspread and pillow. He has garbage truck toys. He's had a garbage truck birthday party. Now, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he got to experience what it's like to be a garbage truck driver. The...

Shaun White's Olympic Spirit Showed Up—Off the Slopes

'Washington Post' reporter explains how snowboarder met 2 cancer survivors

(Newser) - Shaun White may not have medaled in the halfpipe yesterday, but he still "delivered the Olympic moment of his life," writes Mike Wise in the Washington Post . Wise went to Sochi with an angle in mind—he was going to write about how White "had become too...

Thousands Help 'Batkid' Save SF

Miles Scott's Make-A-Wish granted in a big way

(Newser) - A 5-year-old boy grabbed the attention of San Francisco today as thousands of residents joined an elaborate effort to help the tiny leukemia patient play crime-fighting "Batkid" for a day. With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Miles Scott rescued a woman, captured the evil Riddler during a bank...

7K Strangers to Help Sick Boy, 5, Become Batman

Miles will have a day as 'Batkid' in San Francisco

(Newser) - A 5-year-old boy with leukemia has a wish: He wants to be Batman. So the Make-a-Wish Foundation asked for help from San Francisco residents, and more than 7,000 have signed up so far. They'll help stage a series of stunts on Friday, during which little Miles will get...

Dad Nixes Daughter's Make-A-Wish Trip to Disney

He thinks his daughter, 4, doesn't qualify because she beat leukemia

(Newser) - After her final treatment for leukemia, 4-year-old McKenna May of Ohio learned she'd earned a trip to Disney World from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But even after battling cancer for half her life, she lost out on the trip—because her dad refused to sign off on it, reports the...

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