The Workers4Wishes committee (Credit Workers4Wishes)
When the heads and hearts of Saint John’s volunteers come together, there is truly nothing they can’t accomplish.
Workers4Wishes, founded by Eamon Clark, is a registered charity dedicated to granting the wishes of New Brunswick children facing life threatening illness, and makes five unique wishes a reality every year.
“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is that we’re 100% volunteer, so no one gets paid for any wishes that we work on or anything that we do, said Workers4Wishes President Yvette Gallant. “All money fundraised, the majority of the money, other than if we have to purchase something goes towards those wishes.”
Workers4Wishes completed playground wish (Credit Workers4Wishes)
The organization is run by twelve volunteers from local Saint John unions, the General Presidents Maintenance Committee (GPMC), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 502, the Pipefitters Union UA213, Millwrights Local 2262 and the Saint John Chamber of Commerce. Friends, community partners and employees, such as Irving Oil Refinery and Wyndham World Inc., have also contributed to Workers4Wishes.
What makes Workers4Wishes special is how the charity personally works with a child and their family to customize wishes, with two committee volunteers assigned to work on each individual wish.
“We collect per wish so then the people know where their money is going to, what child they’re going to help,” said Gallant.
Dorothy Miller is another Workers4Wishes volunteer who says a profile is created for each child while collecting for their wish. “It gives us more of a personal aspect of it so that’s how we get the wish granted so much easier,” Miller said.
From room makeovers, building playgrounds, a Disney World trip and a P!nk concert, Workers4Wishes have worked on a wide variety of wishes.
Workers4Wishes child meeting a Toronto Maple Leag (Credit Workers4Wishes)
“We sent a little girl across Canada in an RV,” said Gallant. “We’ve done a boy to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. He got to go watch them warm up and they all came and greeted him.”
Volunteers also take care to include siblings and friends in the wish and make it an inclusive experience.
“Its stuff like that that makes us unique because I don’t know other organizations would be able to provide, like maybe two kind of wishes in one, because we’re small, we can do things outside the realm of big organizations, said Miller.
In the ten years since the charity began, it has granted an estimated 50 wishes for children aged three to 18. In order to apply for a wish on behalf of a child or their family, one can submit an online application on their website or fill out a paper application and mail it in.
Workers4Wishes family at Disney World (Credit Workers4Wishes)
Others in Saint John are giving back to help Workers4Wishes reach their goals. Woodchuck Axe Throwing will host a tournament for the charity, and after winning ICS Creative Agency’s online contest — “Thanks To You,” Workers4Wishes is working with ICS to revamp their website and create a new logo. Last Christmas the GPMC donated $50,000 to the charity, which will help in making more wishes come true.
An anniversary celebration to be held on April 18th at the Bill McGuire Centre, where food will be served, and a band will play with details available on the charity’s Facebook page.
“For me, the part that I enjoy the most is being able to give these families a week or some time to not even think about the sickness,” said Gallant. “They’re just enjoying each other’s company instead of worrying about going to the doctor; they’re just being a family and that’s what’s most important for me.”
