SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Make-A-Wish Mid-South held its annual 2023 Walk for Wishes at Arvest Ballpark Saturday, April 29.
Several families gathered for the celebration which came after years of hosting a drive-through meeting following Pandemic measures.
According to their release, the event also shares the anniversary of the first-ever wish granted on April 29 in 1980. The event kicked off with a VIP wish kid breakfast which was followed by a short ceremony.
Board member and market chair Danyelle Musselman hosted the ceremony recognizing the fundraising groups. Clint Gill, SVP GMM TEO of Sam's Club, joined the ceremony as a wish dad and fundraiser. This year, groups broke a fundraising goal and record for the event gathering a total of $230,049.
"It's just a chance to kind of celebrate Make-a-Wish, and so it's really fun. And it usually is something that's very important for those families," Musselman said.
The walk took place around the ballpark led by the U of A marching band. Afterward, wish kids and wish families joined in a carnival-style celebration, Wish World, where they completed wish passports for a prize at the end.
"It's kind of like a carnival. So the kids basically get a bingo card, and they have to get all of the spaces X out," Musselman explained. "They get to visit all of these different stations. And it's really fun. And they all are, you know, things that kids are going to enjoy. And then at the end, they get to spin the prize wheel and get a prize."
Wish families of the past, present, and future were in attendance for the event. Among those celebrating was the Sluyter family representing "Do It For Hewitt" A year ago, the family found out their son, Hewitt Kahana, had a brain tumor the size of a baseball and had it removed.
"We spent the summer getting proton radiation out of state and were able to come back to Northwest Arkansas for six months of chemo," Mom, Christen Sluyter, said. "He just finished, and he has been cleared to go back to school. And yeah, we're getting back to living life again."
To help with their costs, their friend, Scotti Lechuga, put together the group "Do It for Hewitt." The group challenged bike riders to complete the most bike miles in 24 hours.
"Our community rode over 30,000 miles, and raised over $50,000 for Hewitt," dad, Jared Sluyter, said.
During the ceremony at Arvest Ballpark, Danyelle Musselman revealed that the Sluyter family had still been awaiting their wish to be granted. With Star Wars theme music and cosplayers to match, Hewitt's wish of a Disney trip was granted.
"It was probably one of the best experiences I've had in my entire life," Hewitt said.
When asked how it felt to have both the Do It For Hewitt group and Make a Wish care so much for him, he said "It's hard to describe it because it feels so good. I don't know if there's a word for it."
"He was he has stayed positive the whole time. And now that we know that he's healthy, we are just excited to get back to doing all the things we love. So having this wish granted, I feel like is the cherry on top. It's like the last ending chapter, the moving on. It's really exciting," Christen claimed.
"He's riding his bike. He's playing baseball, and we're gonna go to Disney World. So it's back to having a good time," Jared explained.
With the family returning to some normalcy, Hewitt is jumping back on his bike. He'll be participating in this year's Do It For Hewitt Ride on June 24.
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