Make-A-Wish Foundation started with one boy and his wish

LOS ANGELES - In 1980, 7-year-old Chris Greicius was sick with leukemia. Tommy Austin, a U.S. Customs Agent, asked Arizona’s Department of Public Safety Officer Ron Cox if there was something they could do to make his wish of becoming a police officer come true. Before long, everyone wanted to help. Patrol cars, police motorcycles, and even a DPS helicopter were at their disposal to make his special day. Chris received a badge and became Arizona’s first and only honorary DPS officer on April 29th. 

The next day Chris was given a specially made uniform and earned his motorcycle officer wings for driving through a course on his battery-powered motorcycle. When the officers returned the next day to present the wings, Chris had gone back into the hospital. He passed May 3rd, but not before he clutched his wings and gave one last smile to his new friends. Chris was given a ceremony of that of a fellow fallen officer. 

The first official donation was for $15 by a grocery clerk in 1980. Last year, the organization spent over $200 million in donated dollars on almost 15,000 wishes. The foundation helps children live their dreams of becoming superheroes, meeting their favorite athletes, going to Disneyworld...really anything they can think of. So many sick children have been reached all because of one boy’s wish, and the men and women who made it come true. That legacy continues because of all the volunteers and donations that make it possible. 

Watch the video to see how a 5-year-old boy became a superhero and saved the nation’s capital through the Make-A-Wish foundation.