Make-A-Wish tackling hundreds of wishes for NC kids delayed by COVID
Reagan Crowl’s “glow” came back when Make-A-Wish paid for her shopping spree at SouthPark mall.
“That spark was there again,” her father, Michael, told The Charlotte Observer, about the April trip.
“It just gave her a little extra pep in her step as she was going through chemotherapy.”
Crowl, who recently turned 18, was diagnosed two years ago with Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that occurs in the bones and soft tissue. Less than 1,000 cases of this type of cancer are currently in the United States, Crowl said.
Crowl is one of many young patients Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina helped amid a backlog of wishes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 500 wishes were waiting to be granted coming out of the pandemic, said Kathy Jetton, president and CEO at Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina.
In a normal year, the Make-A-Wish chapter grants close to 400 wishes, but now the goal is 250, Jetton said. Over the past two years, the organization’s backlog grew tremendously as wishes were delayed, due to travel restrictions and health concerns over COVID.
Of the 500 backlogged wishes spread throughout the 51 counties the chapter serves, about 300 children and teens are still waiting, she said.
“When 70% of what you normally do is travel and the world decides to shutdown, it makes it hard,” Jetton said. “We’re still in the business of granting wishes, we just had to think of a different way to do that.”
Make-A-Wish Charlotte
Since traveling to Walt Disney World and the beach weren’t options, the chapter’s program team figured out other ways to grant wishes — including shopping sprees and room makeovers, Jetton said.
Make-A-Wish chapters nationwide are having to “reimagine the wish journey” for its kids due to backlogs, Jetton says. Finding new ways to grant wishes also means there is a funding need for chapters, especially amid inflation and supply chain issues, she said.
“Everybody’s feeling the pinch right now,” Jetton said.
The biggest way people can help is by donating, she said.
Reagan’s wish
Crowl of Hickory decided to go on a shopping spree before she heads to UNC-Wilmington this fall to study pediatric nursing. Traveling had drawbacks as limitations caused by her condition would hamper the trip, she said.
“Whatever I wanted they would try to do for me,” Crowl said. “I was pretty urgent to do something.”
When she walked into Macy’s at SouthPark, the then 17-year-old was greeted by banners and flags.
“They really made it special for me,” she said.
Crowl said she bought a couple $100 worth of items at lululemon, some running shoes, a Tory Burch purse and a new iPhone.
“I still have money left over too and I probably spent all day in that mall,” she said.
Caring for a sick child during the pandemic was difficult, Crowl’s mother, Shirlea, said.
“We had to wear a mask and stuff like that. And sometimes they would just allow one parent and everything,” she said. “Overall, we made it work and we stood together as a family. Reagan’s a very strong girl.”
Crowl said the whole experience made her feel like a “little 10-year-old again.”
For the kids who have not gotten their wishes granted, don’t get discouraged, Crowl says. “The process does take a long time, but in the end it’s completely worth it. Just trust the people who are helping you and it’ll work itself out.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
