Provincial wish-granter

When a local woman's six-year-old son lost his battle with leukemia almost two decades ago, it spurred her to get involved with an organization that created so much joy in his life.

And today, Dorothy Parsons from Grand Falls-Windsor has taken over the role as chair of the province's Children's Wish Foundation, marking the first time a person outside of St. John's has held the position.

Ms. Parsons first became involved with the foundation when her son David became a wish child. His greatest desire was to meet Richard Dean Anderson, the actor who played his television hero Angus MacGyvor, and his wish was granted in June 1988, when he travelled to Los Angeles to rub elbows with the star.

Three months later, on Sept. 10, 1988, David passed away.

"The nice thing about it all is... we lost David a short while later, but when we remember him, these are the memories that we think about," said Ms. Parsons. "It gave us the best memories, but it also gave him a determination, even though he lost his battle with leukemia."

Several months after David's death and looking for a way to work through her grief, Ms. Parson's and David's father started volunteering with the Children's Wish Foundation in Ottawa, where they were living at the time.

The following year, they moved back to Newfoundland, setting up stop in Springdale. It was there that they started a new sub-chapter of the foundation in 1990. Ms. Parsons also became a representative on the provincial board for that sub-chapter, serving in that capacity for a number of years.

But with another young son taking up much of her time, Ms. Parsons had to pull back for a few years, still maintaining her volunteer work with Children's Wish, but stepping down from the provincial board.

Then, following a move to Grand Falls-Windsor, she rejoined the board of directors, and since 2000 has served as the vice-chair.

With the next step on the ladder being to take over the position of chairperson, Ms. Parsons said it was something she gladly did with a great deal of pride and commitment.

And she says the provincial foundation already has big plans for the central region. Next year, the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada will be marking its 25th anniversary, and Newfoundland and Labrador's celebration will be held at Lion Max Simms Memorial Camp near Bishop's Falls.

"There's going to be a lot of activity in the next couple of years in this area," said Ms. Parsons. "It's really good for the people here because we've had so much support for Children's Wish and in one way, now it's us giving back to central."

Ms. Parson's vision for what she wants to do for her two-year term as chair includes creating more awareness in the province about what the foundation does and raising more funds to grant more wishes, recognizing the organization relies on the generosity of others in order to be successful.

This year, the provincial foundation has completed 10 wishes, has 24 that have been approved but the children have yet to take their wish, and has 11 more that are going through the approval process. It costs about $9,400 to grant one wish, and across Canada an average of three wishes a day are being bestowed on sick children.

Some of the more popular wishes include going on a trip to Disneyworld, meeting a celebrity, having a bedroom renovated, or travelling to reconnect with family members living away.

However, Ms. Parsons stresses that the foundation ensures that any wish granted is the wish of the child, not of their parents or other family members.

She also wants to let people know that she is available to speak to groups about what Children's Wish does and is encouraging local service clubs and organizations to take her up on her offer.

For her, she said there is no better feeling than seeing a child's face when their wish is granted.

"It feels like you're Santa Claus all year around," she said. "It's putting a smile on their faces.

"These kids, and I watched it from personal experience, are in the hospital, they go through days and days of treatments, of being poked with needles, of being sick. That becomes their way of life and for a short time you can take them out of that and you can give them a magical moment - their biggest dream."