As co-chairs of this years 'Wish Night' at Greenwich Country Club, Victoria Filippelli and Emily Wolowitz are honored to bring the impactful event to life on November 9th.
"Our mission is to bring awareness to Make a Wish and share the impact a wish has on not only on the child but the family. Many people do not know that wishes are granted right here in Greenwich and currently 325 wishes awaiting to be granted in Connecticut," said Filippelli.
There are typically travel inspired wishes every year and therefore they are creating a tropical theme for the night.
"You can expect everything from oversized palms, fabulous florals generously created by Winston, and some influences on the menu. It is likely that the evening will highlight a travel inspired wish and will have a few live auction items that will take the winners to far off places," explained Wolowitz.
Make-A-Wish has been granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses and their families for over 40 years nationwide and internationally.
GL: Why is Wish Night and Make a Wish important in the community?
EW: The idea is that receiving a wish experience can change the trajectory of a child’s illness. The positive experience can give them an increase in optimism and courage to comply with their treatments. Further, granting a wish not only impacts the wish kid but also their families, sponsors, donors, medical professionals and wider communities. Wish Night CT raises critical funds for the CT chapter and is the chapter’s largest fundraising event of the year. The event is directly responsible for granting hundreds of wishes in our state and the town of Greenwich annually.
After experiencing my first Wish Night as a guest and hearing the wish kids share their moving stories, I knew I wanted to help in any way that I could. I started off on the committee and have been a co-chair of the event for four years now. It’s been very rewarding to introduce friends to the Make-A-Wish community and see their roles grow within the event. My mission as event co-chair has been to help the organization to expand locally and to bring awareness to Make-A-Wish’s efforts. I am most proud of the steady growth in table and sponsorship sales over the years. Last year’s event helped us to reach an all time high fundraising goal for the evening, and it is only going to get better with time!
VF: Sharing the power of a wish with our community is so impactful. A child’s wish unites the family, friends and entire communities in life-changing experiences. I started by volunteering on different committees within Make A Wish and then became co-chair of the event.
Join “Wishes in the Wild” on Saturday, November 9th at Greenwich Country Club for an magical evening celebrating the power of a wish. If you can't attend, there are other ways to support the charity you can lear more: www.wish.org/ct/ways-help-us.
"The idea is that receiving a wish experience can change the trajectory of a child’s illness. The positive experience can give them an increase in optimism and courage to comply with their treatments."