Make-A-Wish Celebrates 40 Years in Central New York

Since its inception in Central New York, Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted 2,500 wishes to eligible kids in a 15-county area

 

To say that Diane Kuppermann and Sue Tormey are passionate about their work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation is an understatement.

The CNY chapter of the organization grants the wishes of the eligible critically-ill children between the ages of 21/2 and 18.

The two women have been involved for more than a combined 70 years — Tormey as a founding board member, who four decades later, still supports the chapter as a mentor and resource and Kuppermann, 62, in her 33rd year as executive director.

“It’s such a simple thing that we do — grant a wish. How basic but how wonderful is that!” Tormey said.

It might be basic, but their involvement has impacted Tormey and Kuppermann in profound ways — seeing the courage of the wish children and their families and experiencing the overwhelming generosity of individuals, organizations and companies in this area in making these dreams a reality.

As the chapter celebrates its 40th year, Kuppermann and Tormey sat down at the chapter’s East Syracuse headquarters to talk about the beginning of the chapter, one of 57 in the national organization and its growth.

Tormey, of Syracuse, a long-time Onondaga County government employee, had been chatting one day with a co-worker and friend, Bill Coon, about how inspired he had been after watching a TV program the night before about the national Make-A-Wish organization, which was founded in 1980.

They began talking with more friends and colleagues; researched the national organization; and talked with Upstate Medical Center staff, especially its pediatric oncology department, to learn what the need was and how they could help.

It didn’t take long, Tormey said, to know that they had to start a local chapter.

“How could you not wrap your arms around this organization?” she said.

She credited the early volunteers who got the local chapter started, including Don Lawless, Coon, Lynda Sturick, Barbara Finley, Marilyn Tickner, Rebecca Artessa, Charles Swanson, JoAnn Manuel, J. Michael Kelly, Caryl Frawley, Dr. David Sadowitz, Carole Fleischman, Kimberly Cramer Hancock, John Orr Jr., Helen Holler, Lynda Sturick, Cris Hafner and Don Hamilton.

Hamilton’s living room became their office space and a separate phone line was installed in his home. Sue’s late husband, attorney Jim Tormey — who would later become a state Supreme Court Justice and the Fifth Judicial District’s chief administrator — helped get the chapter incorporated.

Fundraisers were very grassroots in nature, such as a wishing well that Green Hills, a grocery store in Syracuse’s Valley neighborhood, set up in which their shoppers could toss spare change. The Groton High School in December of 1993 did a program called “Jingle Links,” in which students could purchase a paper chain link for 5 cents and each class competed to build the longest chain. The school was able to donate $150 to Make-A-Wish. And in the early 1990s a second-grade class from Marcellus collected change left over from their milk money and donated it to Make-A-Wish in honor of their beloved teacher.

“These things make a difference, whether it’s the nickels that add up to $150 or a company who has the capacity to give more. Everybody has the potential to be a wish-maker,” Kuppermann said.

“This community has embraced Make-A-Wish and has never looked back,” Tormey said.

 

That first wish

Shortly after starting the group, it received its first wish request, from 6-year-old Joey Edwards of Oneida County, who was born with Fanconi’s aplastic anemia, which affects bone marrow and blood cells.

Joey had hoped to go to Walt Disney World, but the chapter didn’t have enough resources yet to make his wish possible.

But as Tormey has said, “’No’ is not in our vocabulary.”

So, the board members got in touch with the national chapter for contacts with Disney World, they reached out to their contacts and they even used their own credit cards in order to make Joey’s wish a reality. Joey and his family were able to make that trip in June of 1985. He died on July 15, 1986.

 

Growing the chapter

Since that time, the local chapter has been able to grant approximately 2,500 wishes for eligible kids in the 15-county area that the organization covers, which extends from the Canadian border to Pennsylvania and from Herkimer County to the east and Cayuga County to the east.

As the chapter continued to grow, Tormey said that the board realized that they needed to turn the job of overseeing the chapter to a professional, rather than a volunteer team.

Enter Diane Kuppermann, of Fayetteville, who had moved from Utah to Central New York to be closer to family.

Kuppermann wanted to pursue a nursing career, but she said she always got sidetracked. As she was preparing to enter nursing school here and checking as to whether her credits would transfer, she learned of the local Make-A-Wish job. She loves kids, she said, and thought she’d find the job gratifying.

Tormey joked that hiring Kuppermann was the answer to the board’s wish.

“She has taken this organization to unbelievable heights,” Tormey said.

Part of the chapter’s growth also included the move into office space at the former Hotel Syracuse in downtown Syracuse.

When the hotel was closed, they moved into space at the then-MONY Towers in downtown Syracuse. But then AXA bought out MONY and Make-A-Wish had to find a new home. The board members stepped up again. One member had a contact with the late Mike Falcone, a well-known real estate developer and philanthropist, who, with his partners at the Pioneer Group, donated a building on Campuswood Drive in East Syracuse, to the organization. Volunteers were instrumental in renovating the site and Make-A-Wish moved in in 2007.

The seating area at the office celebrates the chapter’s Wish kids. On one wall is a fireplace and Disney décor, as a nod to Disney World, a favorite wish destination. On another wall is a rotating photo collage featuring some of the Wish kids, but the main focal point in the room is the Wish Child Honor Roll. Stretching two stories, it is covered with stars with the names of many Wish kids and the years their wishes were granted.

“To be able to look at that wall of stars and to know that all those stars signify children with such courage and families; to have put smiles on all those faces at some point; to give them some kind of a reprieve, it’s overwhelming,” Tormey said.

But the wishes do more than put smiles on faces and give families a reprieve.

Kuppermann said in a recent interview with In Good Health newspaper that parents and physicians have seen that the wish process can have a positive impact on the child’s overall well-being.

“The power of hope. The power of positivity,” she said.

Today, Kuppermann, as executive director, oversees a staff of eight; a team of nearly 200 volunteers, who handle a wide range of responsibilities; and a budget of $2 million this year. This is the most aggressive budget to date, she said, but it is necessary if they are to continue to say “yes” to every eligible child in its 15-county area.

Last year, they granted a record 96 wishes and this year, there are 126 wishes they are working on, although Kuppermann explained how that number is fluid with new wishes being made and others being granted each month.

During that In Good Health interview, Kuppermann was asked if any one of the 2,500 wishes the local chapter has done over the years has especially tugged at her heart and without hesitation she said all 2,500 of them have.

One particular wish, Kuppermann recalled, took her aback.

It was late winter 1993 and Janet, a 13-year-old girl from Cortland County who had an inoperable brain tumor, had wished for a pole barn, but her doctors had advised the Make-A-Wish staff and volunteers that time was not on their side to grant that particular wish. So, Janet’s second wish was for a pregnant Arabian mare to give birth to a gray foal.

Through a series of calls, Kuppermann and her team found a breeder who had the type of horse that Janet wanted. The breeder sold the animal to Make-A-Wish and delivered the animal to the girl. Janet’s family already had a barn, so the horse was able to be stabled there. On March 25, the mare gave birth to her foal — which turned out to be gray! And every day that she could, she made her way to the barn by herself or with help, to see her horses. Janet died from her cancer in October of that year.

 

Impact on a personal level

As mothers themselves, Kuppermann and Tormey have been impacted by their work on a very personal level. Tormey has two grown children, Andy, 38, and Colleen, who will turn 34 later this summer, and three grandchildren.

Kuppermann’s daughters, Elana and Leah, will turn 31 and 28, respectively this summer.

Kuppermann said that as a young mother with Elana, “I just could not comprehend, as I sat home rocking her at night, what a parent was going through in a hospital. I was dreaming about her future and they were wondering what tomorrow would bring. I could never get that out my head.”

 

Moving forward

Moving forward, these women will not only continue making wishes come true, but they, with their team, will continue to make a difference.

“Make-A-Wish is forever in my heart; and I will always be available to offer any guidance, mentorship or support that I can. And I continue to be grateful to our dedicated staff and volunteers together with this community for helping Make-A-Wish  Central New York create the magic and embrace the hope,” Tormey said.

“They say that when a wish is granted, that a child replaces fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope. We see that every day,” Kuppermann said. “It’s humbling to know that these parents, who are struggling with such a difficult time in their lives and their child’s life, trust us to come in. They invite us into their life to make a difference.”

 

Visit to Disney World Resort Leads Wishes Made to Local Make-A-Wish Foundation

Wishes fall into one of four predominate categories with a fifth emerging.

• I wish to go.

• I wish to meet.

• I wish to be.

• I wish to have.

•I wish to give (the 5th emerging category).

 

I wish to go — 60% of all wishes

• Disney World Resort is still the most popular wish  — about 40% of  wishes.

• Other travel including Disneyland, Hawaii, Disney Cruises and other cruises, sporting events — about 20%.

 

I wish to have — 30% of all wishes

• Shopping sprees.

• Playhouse or playset.

• Room makeover bedrooms, special rooms i.e., man cave.

• Swimming pools and hot tubs.

• Campers.

• Motorized vehicle i.e., CanAm.

 

I wish to meet — 5% of all wishes

• The Rock.

• John Cena.

• Other WWE wrestlers.

• Michael Jordan.

• Shaq.

 

I wish to be — Make-A-Wish started in the dreams of a little boy who wanted to be a policeman, roughly 3% of all wishes

• I wish to be a ballerina.

• I wish to be in the Army.

• I wish to write, direct, produce and star in my own movie!

 

I wish to give — Kids have wished to use their wish to help others – very small percentage and not
every year.

• I wish to help kids who are food insecure.

• I wish to give my school a new baseball field (we did the batting and pitching cages but the school fast-tracked their campaign to complete the baseball field because of Jack’s wish)

• I wish to give my school a new scoreboard.

 

Most Unique Wishes in the past 40 Years

• I wish to write, direct, produce and star in my own movie, Marshall’s wish

• I wish to help kids who are food insecure,  Caden’s wish

• I wish to have a pregnant Arabian horse with the likelihood of a gray offspring, Janet’s Wish – photo above

• I wish for an accessible treehouse – Kalan’s Wish – photo below

• I wish to be in the Army – Justin’s Wish – photo above

 

Wishes by County

Broome 172 (10%)

Cayuga 72 (4%)     

Chenango 43 (2%)

Cortland: 30 (2%)

Herkimer 66 (4%)

Jefferson 115 (7%)

Lewis 16 (less than .5%)

Madison 73 (4%)

Oneida 248 (14%)

Onondaga 529 (30%)

Oswego 158 (9%)

Otsego 42 (2%)

St. Lawrence 101 (6%)

Tioga 35 (2%)

Tompkins 60 (3%)

Based on a sample of 1,760 wishes. Source: Make-A-Wish-Foundation of CNY.