Wishes of some very special children are being fulfilled through the efforts of Joan Kunzman and Brian Reetz — no miniature sleigh, eight tiny reindeer or red and white suit required.
For the past seven years, the two UNL employees have served as volunteers with Make-A-Wish Nebraska. The group is one of 62 chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in the United States that provides experiences to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Combined, Kunzman and Reetz have worked to fulfill 34 wishes. The requests range from trips to Disney World and celebrity encounters to playground installations and shopping sprees. Kunzman, an administrative support associate for Nutrition and Health Sciences, has worked on 24 wishes. Reetz, the promotion and publicity coordinator for the Glenn Korff School of Music, has 10 wishes under his belt.
“Make-A-Wish is an opportunity to get involved with people who need something positive to happen in their lives,” Kunzman said. “As a wish granter, you get to see the difference you are making. It’s really an amazing process.”
By chance, Kunzman and Reetz started with the Nebraska chapter at the same time. Both came to the organization looking for a way to give back to the community.
Kunzman knew right out of the gate that she wanted to be a wish granter. Reetz initially worked on a yearly fundraiser offered through Husker athletics.
“I was leery of working with a child who I knew was terminally ill,” Reetz said. “About two and a half years in, Make-A-Wish changed the process to include kids who were seriously ill and not necessarily terminal. That opened me up to becoming a wish granter.”
Kunzman said wish granters are allowed to pick which children they want to help. Kunzman usually has the maximum of three wishes in play, while Reetz works primarily with one at a time.
“It’s totally up to each volunteer how many kids you work with,” Kunzman said.
“We have some people in Nebraska who grant more than 100 wishes in a year.”
Each child is assigned two wish granters — a leader and assistant. The team meets with the family and sits down with the ill child to determine the wish request.
“We really pick the kids’ brains to be sure we know what they want,” Reetz said. “I think about the things these kids have been through — all the trips to the hospital, the pain they’ve endured. I want the wish to be a big ‘Wow!,’ something that will completely take their minds off everything they’ve faced.”
The Make-A-Wish organization works with doctors and families to finalize details of the wishes. And, the wish granters organize send-off and return parties for the families.
Both Kunzman and Reetz have had children they’ve assisted die — one of Reetz’s passing before the wish was fulfilled. They also quite often stay in touch with the families, with those connections ranging from casual Facebook friends and email exchanges to direct phone calls and semi-regular dinners.
“It really can become a lifelong connection with the families,” Reetz said. “Establishing those relationships is one of the things I really enjoy about the organization.”
Both Kunzman and Reetz said the time commitment to Make-A-Wish is minimal.
“When you see the smiles on the kids’ faces, it makes everything worth it.” Kunzman said.
For more information, or to volunteer, go to http://nebraska.wish.org.
