I Wish…..

Posted by Angie Brechtel on May 18, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments

We are taught in childhood that “wishes” are important.  We make a wish and blow out all the candles on our birthday cake;  make a wish and blow all the seeds off a dandelion;  make a wish and throw a coin in a fountain, well, or a pool of water; make a wish before pulling a turkey wishbone at Thanksgiving, we light a candle at church, or make a wish upon a star.  Most wishes have to be kept secret (we’re told) in order to come true.

We learn not to expect that all wishes come true.  A wish is “hope” that it could happen.  As we grow older or desperate about a situation a wish often becomes a prayer. Like a wish, not all prayers are guaranteed – and yet, we still hold on to the hope that it is possible.  And as adults we still wish before we blow out our candles, break a wishbone, look at a star, or toss a coin into the water.  ”Hope” lives within us forever.

If “our” particular wish did not come true for us, it is possible that it came true for someone else. Vegas is a good example of  coins in a fountain.  People throw coins into the water of the Volcano at the Mirage, the harbor at New York-New York, Bellagio’s fountains and various other pools of water in and out of buildings.  Where do those wishes go?

The coins from the Vegas “New York Harbor” are collected once a year and donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. The Bellagio donated more than $12,000 last year to the Habitat for Humanity. Planet Hollywood resort donates their “wishes” to Opportunity Village and Boys & Girls Club.  In the malls, staff remove the coins on a monthly basis.  Local organizations can apply to receive donations, but they are required to sort and clean the coins themselves.  The money is collected and delivered by bucket.  Four to six buckets a month are collected and donated with a value of between $800 and $1,200.  That is a small example of how “water” wishes are granted. Internationally, coins are collected, cleaned and distributed to charity.

So take heart that though you did not directly receive your wish – someone who needed it more than you did.