Make-A-Wish gets its wish granted — new office space
Make-A-Wish of Southern Nevada opened a new office space Friday in Summerlin called the Wishing Place.
Allegiant Airlines, a national sponsor of Make-A-Wish for nearly five years, donated $1.5 million to the nonprofit organization to help fund its new headquarters on Allegiant’s Summerlin campus.
“They wanted to do something that could connect their emloyees here in the office more deeply with the mission, so it was a perfect fit,” said Caroline Ciocca, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish of Southern Nevada.
At the unveiling ceremony, Tom Burns, chairman of the board for Make-A-Wish, pulled out three $1 bills and handed them to Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher, a gesture that signified three years’ rent for the nonprofit organization.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman then took the stage, brandishing a $100 bill before handing it Gallagher. “One hundred years!” she exclaimed, before proclaiming Feb. 10 Make-A-Wish Day.
One of the main features of the new 7,000-square-foot office is a blue granite counter in the lobby. It is dedicated to Linda Richardson, a longtime Make-A-Wish volunteer and supporter.
“It truly is the heartbeat of the Wishing Place, and Linda is that to us,” said Ciocca.
Because the nonprofit shares space with Allegiant, a multipurpose room is dedicated to training Allegiant employees as volunteers.
On one wall, Allegiant employees were asked for one word to describe the partnership between their company and Make-A-Wish. “Empowering,” “love” and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” were among the words.
Wish kid Kayla Elder, 13, attended the event with her parents, Tammy and Gene Elder.
Two years ago, Kayla was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of tissue cancer, in her nasal cavity.
Toward the end of her chemotherapy, she received her wish of meeting her favorite artist Youtuber, Baylee Jae. Now, she and her parents are excited to see a new space where other kids can come to feel positive.
“We’ve been using the same adjectives; they’re boring adjectives: awesome, amazing, cool,” said Gene Elder. “I want something like ‘grand.’ I want the perfect adjective.”
After the unveiling of the Make-A-Wish sign, guests toured the facility during an open house that lasted the rest of the day.
Contact Brooke Wanser at bwanser@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Bwanser_LVRJ on Twitter.