2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Hope Strength Joy

Make-A-Wish® Southwestern Ontario is a dynamic wish granting organization that brings

hope, strength and joy to children across Southwestern Ontario who have life-threatening medical conditions. Community-based volunteers help ensure wishes are

granted responsibly and to the highest ethical standard. As part of an international family, we stand

together to ensure every eligible child has the opportunity to have his or her wish fulfilled.

“From my the bottom of my heart thank you so much for having me as a volunteer with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It really feels wonderful to help others fulfill their dreams!”

- Volunteer, Nicky Sehra

MissionWe grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Southwestern Ontario Staff

Lori QuickChief Executive Officer(Empress of Empowerment)

Rosy López-Gross Manager of Finance & Administration(Princess of Giggles and First Impressions) Stephanie Field Manager of Communications & Development(Princess of Creativity and Inspiration) Roberta DerikxManager of Volunteer Services(Duchess of Divine Deed Doers) Erin Latam Manager of Special Events(Duchess of Festivities) Misha MedeirosWish Coordinator(Princess of Magical Stardust)

Brittany KinchenWish Coordinator(Princess of Magical Stardust)

Windsor Satellite Office

As of December 31, 2013

Values

Vision We are dedicated to making every eligible child’s wish come true.

INTEGRITY

CHILD FOCUS

EXCELLENCE

COMMUNITY

INSPIRATION

We approach every aspect of our work with unwavering standards of honesty, transparency and respect for wish recipients, their families and Foundation supporters.

Our business always puts the interests of wish children first.

We aspire to best-in-class business practices, and we embrace the challenge to exceed expectations at every opportunity.

We foster a collaborative, global community of staff, volunteers and donors with the collective ability to make the broadest possible range of wishes come true.

We are inspired by the examples of our wish kids and the actions of the entire Make-A-Wish community to approach our mission with life-affirming enthusiasm, imagination and creativity. As a result, we fill each wish experience and every interaction with hope, strength, and joy.

Katherine Melanson Windsor Satellite Office Coordinator (part-time)(Duchess of Essex County)

President’s MessageAfter six years serving on the Board of Directors, it is my honour to continue serving as Presi-dent of the Board for Make-A-Wish® Southwestern Ontario.

Our chapter has been blessed with one of the most successful CEO’s in the Make-A-Wish organization, Lori Quick. Her continuing leadership, the remarkable work of her entire team, led our chapter to another successful year in 2013 in granting 64 wishes. Our chapter was incorporated in 1987, and granting 1,061 wishes in that short time has given 1,061 families facing difficult and emotional medical circumstances with their child, memories of a lifetime.

I would like to offer a very special thanks to Paul Huston, who moved off of our Board in 2013 to spend more time granting wishes to our very special kids. Paul served on the Board for over 10 years, in many different leadership capacities, and was very well respected for his selfless hours committed to Make-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario. His service and guidance will surely be missed at the board level, however we are forever thankful for Paul’s hard work and benevolence.

We are indebted to our 170 volunteers who enable what we do to such a large extent. Their time and efforts, in concert with the staff, result in wishes being granted, programs and events planned and run, donations raised and community awareness expanded. Everything you do is noticed and greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Our staff are incredible. They change the lives of our wish children and their families every day! I invite you to go to our Facebook page at Make-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario and visit our website at www.makeawishswo.ca to view the events calendar to get a sense of how much activity is generated and managed constantly, every month. Whether it is wish granting, event planning, coordinating volunteers or performing critical business functions that support the rest of the organization, our staff is talented, committed and a delight to work with. Thank you all, for all that you do.

I would personally like to thank all the people who are so incredibly dedicated to Make-A-Wish - the staff, volunteers, corporate sponsors, private donors, media partners, Wish Children and their families and fellow Board members – the power of a wish continues to shine brightly in Southwestern Ontario, thanks to you all!

Sincerely,

Graham Casson, PresidentBoard of DirectorsMake-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario

Financial Report

“I WISH TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD® RESORT!”

Upon Andie’s return, a special Welcome Home Princess Tea Party was held for Andie and her family at the Make-A-Wish® Southwestern Ontario office. Special surprise guests included Belle from Magical Princess Parties, The Amazing Corbin and Tim Ellis and Rodney Buford from the London Lightning Basketball team!

Thank you for your support, which has helped us grant over 1,000 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions!

We’re so excited and proud to have had the opportunity to grant the most cherished wishes to our 1,000 amazing, courageous Wish Kids we are so privileged to serve. Our 1,000th wish is a huge milestone for our chapter! We are thrilled to have wish child Andie representing all 1,000 wish children whom we have met along the way, experiencing their journey and providing them with Hope, Strength and Joy!

1,000th

WISH!

Andie’s Wish

“We were constantly surprised, every day. It was such a surreal experience.” - Andie’s Mom

Five-year-old Andie was very excited to be our chapter’s 1,000th wish child! She and her family had a spectacular time at Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando, Florida!

Andie’s mom tells us, “We had an absolutely incred-ible wish trip. It is hard to even put it into words. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that we feel so blessed to have had. Thank you so much to you and everyone at Make-A-Wish® for this incredible wish trip you put together for us.”

Wishes in Review 201364wishes granted

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Cynthia’s Wish

Nineteen-year-old Cynthia, living with Acute Lympho-blastic Leukemia enjoys snowboarding, shopping, cooking and woodworking. Not to mention watching her favourite cooking shows. When Make-A-Wish® asked Cynthia what her wish was, she only had one answer - to meet her favourite celebrity chef, Anna Olson! Prior to Cynthia’s wish, her mom e-mailed “Cynthia is overwhelmed by all of the things you sent her. I talked to her tonight and she was really excited.”

“The best part was Anna teaching us baking techniques. We were able to enjoy family time and bond without daily responsibilities which we aren’t normally able to have.” - Cynthia

“I WISH TO MEET ANNA OLSON!”

Anna Olson was thrilled to be able to help grant Cynthia’s wish. Anna told Make-A-Wish, “I certainly had a lovely time yesterday with Cynthia and her family - I truly hoped they enjoyed it, and weren’t too exhausted at the end. They made six full desserts! (I had them break up into two teams of two, so that way everyone would be involved). It was a pleasure working with you, and creating a memorable experience for Cynthia and her family.”

Cynthia and her family headed to the Niagara region for her wish experience and she was happy beyond belief. Her favourite celebrity chef, Anna Olson, booked the culinary lab in Niagara College so they could spend the day baking Cynthia’s favourite recipes! Together, with Anna and her assistant Lisa’s expertise, Cynthia was able to make three different desserts - Coconut Chiffon Cake, Red Velvet Cake and a Fruit Flan. Cynthia felt very special and lucky to be able to spend time with and learn from someone who inspires her after the events of her last three years. They also got to meet Anna’s husband Michael, a chef, who took time to make her wish experience extra special and prepared lunch for Cynthia and her family.

Wish child Ethan has a lot of interests for an eight-year-old! He loves sports, especially baseball and football. His favourite teams are the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Bengals. Ethan enjoys playing Monopoly, watching movies and listening to his favourite artist, Mackelmore. He’s also fascinated with police officers and sirens.

Ethan’s Wish“I WISH TO HAVE A BACKYARD PLAY SET!”

“It’s rare when you have two sisters and a brother to have anything just for you but this wish did exactly that and for that I will be forever thankful. He will

never forget the day or the way he felt because of it.” - Ethan’s Mom

Ethan suffers from an inherited neurologic disorder. Even though his wish was to have his very own backyard play set, it was picked so all his family could enjoy it. With the help of Home Depot and Make-A-Wish® volunteers, Ethan’s wish came true. Not only did his set have swings, slide, rock climbing wall and monkey bars, but Ethan was also surprised to receive a clubhouse, a toy police car and special guests from the London Police Service - Chief Brad Duncan, fellow police officers, emergency responders, the canine unit and a light armoured vehicle.

After walking to his backyard to hear everyone yelling “happy wish day,” he and his family joined the police chief and the others at the front of their house for a surprise police parade down his street! Ethan rode in the real vehicles before heading back to take his own toy police car for a spin.

Ethan’s mom describes the day for her son, who isn’t a “centre-of-attention” type of a kid. “He had no idea it was coming nor that so many people had worked so hard on his play set without him knowing. None of us knew the London Police personal parade was coming and I could barely keep it together knowing all these people took time out of their very busy days to surprise Ethan. It really came at a perfect time for all of us.”

“It’s great being a part of such an enthusiasticgroup of people who

share the love ofchildren and the desire

to make their lives the best possible.”

- Volunteer, Colleen Maass

Thank You To OurVOLUNTEERS!“It’s great being a part of

such an enthusiasticgroup of people who

share the love ofchildren and the desire

to make their lives the best possible.”

- Volunteer, Colleen Maass

“My family is so grateful for all the Foundation did to make my son’s wish come true. I wanted to give back to them and the community. The wish experience and volunteering have truly made my life

more meaningful and makes me never take things for granted.” - Volunteer, Janice Thompson

“I am always happy to give back to good people and people in need. I think

volunteering helps keep you level headed and

grateful for what you have.” - Volunteer, Demetria Drakos

Board of Directors

Graham CassonPresident

Steve CoulahanVice-President

Colin HendersonTreasurer

Phil HuntPast President

Joel Belisle

Chris Bowden

Steve Coulahan

Sandra Drozd

Craig Emptage

Carole Fleming

Paul Huston

Jodi Orr

David Swift

Make-A-Wish® Southwestern Ontario307 Commissioners Road West

London, ON, N6J 1Y4Tel: (519) 471-4900 Fax: (519) 471-4933

E-mail: swontariochapter@makeawish.caWeb: www.makeawishswo.ca

Charitable Registration Number: 82712 1302 RR0001

VOLUNTEERMake-A-Wish relies on the dedication and commitment of our volunteers. Why not use your gifts, talents and spare time to make dreams come true for children in your community. Begin the application process at www.makeawishswo.ca

DONATEHelp Make-A-Wish create magic and hope in children’s lives with adirect donation. Donations over $20 are tax deductible and can be made by mail, phone, or online at www.makeawishswo.ca LEGACYLeave a lasting legacy through a Planned Gift to ensure Make-A-Wish can continue granting wishes.

BECOME A CORPORATE PARTNERSupport Make-A-Wish through a corporate partnership by donating a percentage of your product sales, or services in a cause-related marketing initiative, or become a major supporter by sponsoring a Foundation event, donating an auction item or supplying goods and services. Encourage volunteerism by offering leave for employees to volunteer for Make-A-Wish.

ADOPT-A-WISH®

Businesses, organizations, and individuals giving a donation of $10,000 or more are invited to adopt a child’s wish and experience the joy of giving.

DONATE IN-KIND GIFTSIn-kind donations are used for wish granting and fundraising events. Gifts include new products and services provided by the donors free of charge or with significant discount, such as computers, toys, concert tickets, movie tickets, advertising space, etc.

KIDS FOR WISH KIDS®

Kids of all ages can host their own fundraisers and help other kids while learning new skills along the way. A great idea for community service projects, classroom projects, and holiday activities.

EVENTSEncourage your work colleagues and friends to serve on a fundraising committee, host a fundraising event, a golf day or luncheon. Consider donating the proceeds from your conference dinner or other event to Make-A-Wish. Bring your family, friends and business associates to a Make-A-Wish event. SPECIAL OCCASION DONATIONS When celebrating special times such as a birthday, engagement, wedding anniversary or birth of a child, ask your friends to make a tax-deductible donation to Make-A-Wish in lieu of a gift.

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT MAKE-A-WISH®