IN THE CLASSROOM:

The tears came Monday morning at St. Joachim’s Parish School as a young leukemia survivor told the first-graders how the Make-A-Wish foundation made it possible to fulfill his dream to go to Disney World.

The boy, who declined to be identified, was a living testimonial to the students who collected $1,615 in fundraisers to give to the foundation.

This money, raised over the last two weeks by the school’s first-grade class, will be used to give a Costa Mesa girl fighting cancer the computer she wants so she can keep up with her schoolwork while going through treatment.

Make-A-Wish Coordinator Megan Guild introduced the first-graders to the foundation’s mission two weeks ago when she visited dressed up as a fairy.

“I told them I was a wish fairy and that I granted lots of wishes,” Guild said. “Then I told them that we help children who are really sick and have to go to hospitals and be in bed all the time.”

The kids, along with their teacher, Taylor Gullo, and parent volunteers, sold bracelets and necklaces to raise money, and took donations from staff, parents, and parish members.

“The kids were scared at first,” parent volunteer Angela Maniaci said. “They just thought that everybody dies from cancer. They didn’t realize that people do heal. But when we explained to them that they could do something to help the spirit of a child, they were very excited about the project.”

For the 6-year-olds, it wasn’t entirely easy understanding the gravity of cancer. “The kids wanted to know what kind of sickness the girl had,” Gullo said. “They were concerned about the girl; they wanted to meet her.”

Freddie Flanagan is one of three triplets in the first grade. His mother and his siblings set up a donations table at the parish’s Sunday Mass.

“We sold bracelets and necklaces to help the little girl. We also wrote names of people who donated on stars and hung them up in the school,” Freddie said.

“The necklaces had small silver charms with ‘Hope,’ ‘Strength,’ and ‘Joy’ on them,” said first-grader Sophia Thomas.

Seeing the young boy was a new experience for the first-graders.

“It made it very real for them,” Gullo said. “It was very touching to see how a child can be positively affected by other children. The first grade has never had a service project in our school before, so this was a great experience, especially during Lent. It is very encouraging to see the amount of money we raised even in this economy.”

This program of Make-A-Wish, called Kids for Kids Wish, works with anyone younger than 18 who wants to help. Organizers work with middle schools, elementary schools and youth groups in the area to spread awareness and raise funds.

“We generally have four types of wishes: to be, to have, to meet and to go,” Guild said. “Sometimes we get some very unique wishes, like once a child wanted to meet a pickle farmer, or one child wanted to see a tornado.”

This year, the Orange County and Inland Empire chapter of the foundation aims to grant 300 wishes.

“We would love to start the program in any school or interested group. When we grant one wish, the child’s entire family and friends are affected positively by it,” Guild said.

KIDS TALK BACK

If you could have a wish, what would it be?

“I’d want to go to Mexico and live with my family and my cousins there.”

Matthew Kehoe

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“I’d want a horse or a dog because I like fuzzy animals.”

Kylie Mandoza

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“I’d wish to go to Disney World, Florida.”

Grady Birmingham

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“I’d like to get tickets for the NCAA basketball tournament.”

Nikolas Segovia

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“I’d like to take ice-skating lessons.”

Alyssa Perkins