It was all cheers and smiles at the Macy’s in River Park on Friday, Dec. 6. Make-A-Wish and Macy’s had their 12th annual Believe campaign.
From Nov. 4 – Dec. 24, for every letter that is written to Santa and dropped off at his mailbox in store or sent via macys.com/believe, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to one million.
Dec. 6, National Believe Day is a meaningful day for Make-A-Wish. Macy’s doubles a $1 donation for each letter written, to a $2 donation. An extra one million can be donated to the Make-A-Wish foundation on this day.
So to celebrate this important day, the Central California chapter of Make-A-Wish teamed up with the Macy’s in River Park to hold a Wish Kid Parade for a handful of local Make-A-Wish kids.
Kids from around the Central Valley came to Macy’s to write a letter to Santa and drop it off in his Believe mailbox. The kids gathered around with their parents, Clovis West cheerleaders and firefighters getting to know one another and talking about their letters to Santa.
Fresno City Fire Department, Fresno Mayor Candidate Jerry Dyer, Clovis West Pep and Cheer, Pacheco Highschool students, and Macy’s employees were part of the community that helped make the morning awe-inspiring.
The energy in the room was filled with laughter and love, capturing this season’s Christmas spirit. Clovis West cheerleaders lined up in a tunnel fashion to create a runway and cheer on the kids as they walked through to drop off their letters in Santa’s mailbox.
Everyone gathered around watching and cheering them on as they sent off their letters to be delivered to Santa.
This is the second year the Clovis West Pep & Cheer team has been involved in the Wish Kid Parade. This year there were 40 cheerleaders cheering on and talking with the kids.
Kelsey Ostrander, Clovis West Pep & Cheer coach stood by and proudly watched her team surround the kids. “It is really special because the Clovis West girls get to share their love and spirit with the Make-A-Wish kiddos,” Ostrander said. “This group of cheerleaders is truly a special group and they love giving back to our community.”
This event holds a special place in their heart. Ostrander said she didn’t even have to give the girls pointers on acting like a Disney princess for the kids because this event is truly magical for them.
The morning came to an end with the cheerleaders and kids gathered in the parking lot, where Fresno City Firefighters had their fire truck on display. The kids were able to go inside the fire truck and get some pictures taken.
Nicole, mother to Carson, one of the kids who participated in the Wish Parade said how much these events mean to them. “When we were on our Wish vacation we were on the third day and he goes ‘mommy this is the longest I have ever gone without being poked’” Nicole said. “What a small thing, but it was so huge for him and for a week he was like everybody else.”
She said how nice it is that events like these always cater to the kids and that Carson is always excited to do them.
The Central Valley Make-A-Wish chapter is passionate about granting wishes and doing events for the kids such as the Wish Parade.
It takes a lot of organizing and planning to throw these events. Cortney Snapp, Sr. Development Manager and Kathleen Price, VP of Development for the Central California Make-A-Wish chapter help make these events happen.
“I love the way our kids are celebrated today, it’s a time to really just celebrate the children,” Price said. “I think for the people that come like the cheerleaders and schools, it really sets a beautiful example of how you can give back and make a difference in our community, even in little ways.”
Macy’s Believe Campaign has raised $19 million for Make-A-Wish over the last 12 years, which helps grants so many kids’ wishes.
The Believe Campaign will still be going on until December 24. Letters to Santa can still be written and dropped off at Macy’s or via macys.com/believe.