By Andrew Caley
Monday, Oct. 3, 2011
Four-year-old Sophie Young, wanted to ride the teacups more than anything.
Last May she got to, at Disney World.
Sophie was born with congenital heart disease and has undergone three open-heart surgeries. She put in a wish with the Children’s Wish Foundation and it was granted.
Monday, Sophie and her family sat down in a packed Globe World Flavours restaurant to enjoy a heaping bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, in support of the Children’s Wish Foundation Spaghetti-fest.
The event sold out both afternoon sittings.
“Today is a really fun event because the tickets are sold to a lot of businesses and corporations throughout the city, traditionally with bosses and mangers serving their staff,” said Beth Corney Gauthier, P.E.I. chapter director of the Children’s Wish Foundation.
“They really seem to enjoy that,” she laughed.
Corney Gauthier said October is a very special time of year for the Children’s Wish Foundation.
“Spaghetti-fest has been a traditional lead up to Wishmaker Walk for Wishes, and a chance to create awareness for the foundation,” she said.
The Wishmaker Walk is a national fundraiser and the most important event of its kind for the foundation because the wishes depend solely on donations, said Corney Gauthier.
The walk will be held Oct. 15 at five different locations across the province. They are in Charlottetown, Montague, North Rustico, Summerside and Tignish.
The community has been exceptionally supportive over the years, said Corney Gauthier, and she doesn’t expect it to end anytime soon.
“We’ve been very, very, lucky and been granting wishes here on P.E.I. since 1987.”
Those wishes included Sophie’s and they are now working on granting wishes for 10 more Island children this year.
Sophie’s mother, Andrea, couldn’t be happier and more thankful to come out and support events like this for the Children’s Wish Foundation after her daughter’s wish was granted.
“For our family it was amazing. We were able to just take a week off to forget about sickness and hospital visits and needles and just relax as a family,” she said.
“Sophie has a lot of challenges ahead of her, but she’s doing good for now. In large part due to events like these.”
Filed under: Uncategorized
