Time to make a child’s wish come true

PETER BUFFA

Make a wish. No, not you.

We’re talking about “Make-a-Wish.” I’m sure you know who they are

and what they do, but here’s a few things you might not know, smarty

pants.

The other day, I learned a lot about this outstanding organization

from Mark Pilon, who happens to be the chief executive of the

Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County, which is just a stone’s

throw from here. The group’s mission statement is so simple it fits

nicely on the back of Pilon’s business card: “The Make-a-Wish

Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening

medical conditions.” Is there a mission more noble? I say there is

not.

The Orange County chapter, which is one of 71 national and 22

international Make-a-Wish chapters, is funded strictly by private

donations and grants, without a drop of government assistance. Since

1983, the Orange County chapter has granted the wishes of more than

1,700 kids. Today, they help about 160 kids a year, with a staff of

only 10 people, which is not a lot, and about 200 volunteers, which

is. Not only do they deliver dreams to kids and families who can

desperately use a lift, but about 40% of the kids they help go on to

lead full, productive lives.

Mark also wanted me to know that South Coast Plaza and the

Segerstrom family have been a huge help over the years. I told him he

was singing to the preachers. Preaching to the choir. It’s one of

those. As everyone around these parts knows, the Segerstrom family’s

heart is about the same size as their mall.

And that brings us to Isabelle -- Boch, that is. She is the lady

who puts the “Boch” in Villeroy & Boch -- prodigious purveyor of

premier porcelain, china and crystal -- and one of the marquee names

at South Coast Plaza. If you snoop around the china cabinets in

palaces across Europe and the Vatican, you’ll find them dripping with

Villeroy & Boch. You’ll also get arrested, but that’s another story.

The firm has been gracefully gracing tables since 1748, the same

year the War of Austrian Succession ended, as if you didn’t know

that. This Friday, not only will Isabelle Boch -- an ardent supporter

of Make-a-Wish -- be at her South Coast Plaza store from 1 to 4 p.m.,

but the store will donate a portion of its sales to Make-a-Wish of

Orange County, which is a very good thing. Isabelle will give you a

few tips on how to accessorize your dinner table, and you might even

learn whether the fish fork goes to the left or the right of the

dinner fork -- a nightly argument at our house.

So what do kids wish for these days? Among Orange County kids, the

most wished-for wish is a shopping spree. What a surprise. Not only

are the kids and their families squired around in limos, but they get

a few thousand bucks for the bling-bling.

Interestingly, most kids spend almost all their drachmas on stuff

for their family and friends and very little on themselves. Meeting

celebs -- rock stars, actors, athletes and the like -- is also a big

favorite. Big deal big names like Britney Spears and Mia Hamm have

been very generous with their time, and “No Doubt” lead singer Gwen

Stefani -- an Orange County girl herself -- has performed above and

beyond the call of starriness.

Prior to “No Doubt” concerts, Stefani has had dinner with a number

of Make-a-Wish kids, given them a catbird seat in the wings and

dedicated a song to them in the course of the evening.

Some wishes are not grantable, such as anything risky or against

doctor’s orders. One 16-year old boy, who had obviously been spending

too much time on the Internet, wished for a visit to Nevada’s

infamous Chicken Ranch. He was gently refocused.

But the story of one Yorba Linda teenager and her wish provides

perhaps the best explanation of what Make-a-Wish does for kids and

their families. Nicole was a young girl who dreamed long and hard

about her high school prom and what she would wear and who would be

her date and on and on, down to the smallest detail. She even made a

scrapbook of dresses and hairstyles and shoes that caught her eye.

She was pretty and perky and just like every other girl who dreams

about her prom night except for the illness that was making it almost

certain that she would never see it. The Make-a-Wish folks stepped in

and decided that if Nicole couldn’t go to the prom, the prom was

going to her.

They booked a mighty big party yacht in Newport Harbor, created a

floating ballroom that would have made a five-star hotel proud and

invited a few hundred of Nicole’s best friends. Nicole her dream

designer gown and just the right Steve Madden shoes to go with it.

On the big day, she was fluffed and folded and fussed over by a

hair stylist and a make-up artist. Nicole’s dad had played in a

garage band for years and they rehearsed long and hard so they could

provide some of the music for the big night. He was especially

concerned with one song, “Butterfly Kisses,” a popular Christian

music number about the bond between a father and his daughter. It was

the song he had planned to dance to with Nicole at her wedding. There

wouldn’t be a wedding for Nicole, so their dance would have to happen

that night. It did. Three weeks after her special prom, Nicole passed

away.

So there you have it. That’s what the Make-a-Wish people do, why

they do it and why you should drop by Villeroy & Boch on Friday. Is

there a better way to start your weekend? I say there is not. I gotta

go.

* PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs

Sundays. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].