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Sunday, April 27, 2025 | Special Advertising Section 22home with Make-A-Wish Alaska andWashington.%u201d This duo is currently grantingtheir first wish together for a childwho hopes to travel and they areenjoying this new experience togetherwhich comes as no surprise toJeannette Tarcha, vice president ofcommunications and marketing atMake-A-Wish Alaska and Washington. %u201cVolunteering certainly benefitsnonprofits and strengthens our localcommunities, but it also has a hugeimpact on the volunteers themselves,%u201d says Tarcha. %u201cSimply put, volunteeringis good for you!%u201dVolunteerism is known to support mental and physical health and offerspeople a point of connection with others who share a common interest.Being a volunteer allows you to explore new interests and may even lead you to a different career path.If helping others is of interest, there%u2019sno time like the present to look for yourown volunteer opportunity. %u201cMake-AWish offers people the unique chanceto directly interact with wish kids andfamilies, so our volunteers often citethat as one the reasons why they loveworking on wishes,%u201d says Tarcha.Currently there are about 550 kidswaiting for their wishes in part becausethe organization doesn%u2019t have enoughvolunteers. The organization is seekingpeople who speak English and arebilingual in Spanish and English.Make-A-Wish offers online, on-demand volunteer training so it caneasily fit into schedules when it%u2019s right for them. Volunteers typically work ontwo wishes annually and the averagewish is completed within 6-9 months.SPONSORED CONTENTPROVIDED BY MAKE-A-WISH ALASKA AND WASHINGTONIt%u2019s been 20 years since Brady Lucaswas originally diagnosed with cancer, but the lifelong effects of childhoodillness impact him daily.He was first diagnosed with cancer at 8 years old and underwent threeand a half years of chemotherapy. The lifesaving treatment coursingthrough his veins weakened his bodybut his spirit was buoyed thanks to hissupport system. %u201cI was fortunate to have the most incredible team duringmy journey,%u201d he says. %u201cMy parents,siblings, doctors, nurses, psychosocialcare team and community constantlyempowered me during my journey.%u201dNever would he have imagined that this support would serve as the lifelinehe would need to push him throughcancer not once, but twice. Two yearsafter finishing treatment, he startedexperiencing fatigue and a sharppain in his shoulder. His cancer hadreturned.Around that same time of his initialdiagnosis, Lucas was referred to MakeA-Wish %u2013 the nonprofit organization that creates life-changing wishes forchildren with critical illnesses. His wish?To visit the Indianapolis Colts%u2019 trainingcamp where he met some of his sport idols.The wish was a game-changer for himand introduced him to the idea of a life fueled by philanthropy. %u201cWhen I was given a 30-50 percent chance to live in 2010, I said I%u2019m goingto do everything I possibly can to giveback to the cancer community, as wellas children,%u201d he says. In the 15 yearssince making that declaration, he%u2019sproudly kept that promise. He%u2019s raised money for severalnonprofits to support childhood cancercare and research, he%u2019s written a booktitled %u201cSmiley%u2019s Smile%u201d to help childrendiagnosed with cancer, and just lastyear he and his wife, Julia, becamewish-granting volunteers for the localMake-A-Wish chapter.%u201cVolunteering has been a key pillarof our relationship,%u201d he says. %u201cWhenlooking for a way to get involved in thecommunity, we were welcomed with afriendly smile and knew we found ourA sick child%u2019s dream come true reverberates years laterMake-A-Wish Alaska and Washington helps create life-changingwishes for children with critical illnesses during their darkest days. Whether you are an individual donor, corporate sponsor, fundraisingadvocate or volunteer, your generous support transforms lives, onewish at a time. Learn more at wish.org/akwa.Make-A-Wish recipient and volunteer Brady Lucas (right) with his wife, Julia. (Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington)Most volunteers spend 10 hoursplanning and executing the wish throughout that duration.But there are many othervolunteer opportunities available from skilled tradespeople neededfor construction wishes to airportgreeters to send and welcome wish kids at the airport to student interns.No special skills are required toattend Make-A-Wish%u2019s special events,donate frequent flyer miles or cash, or engage with them on socialmedia.%u201cWe're only here on this Earth forso many days, so many minutes andso many seconds, so how can weimpact people?%u201d Lucas says.