Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware, & Susquehanna Valley
Title: Helping Make Wishes Come True
Student Interns:
William Dippolito
Drexel University College of Medicine
Laury Senecal
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Tariem Burroughs, PhD, MSEd, MSODL
Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health
Community Preceptor:
Caroline Camp
Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware, & Susquehanna Valley
Community Site:
Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware, & Susquehanna Valley is dedicated to creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. The organization is seeking ways to deepen relationships with and expand the pool of wish recipients to include more children from low-resourced communities.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps interns supported Make-A-Wish in several ways, including updating ICD-10 codes for auto-qualifying diagnoses, creating a database of community organizations, and developing an Equity Report focused on the chapter’s efforts to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. They also helped maintain relationships with medical referral sources by sending handwritten thank-you notes and supported wish families by delivering “Sugar Wishes” (goodie bags filled with sweet treats) to families waiting for their wishes to be approved or completed. The interns participated in wish discoveries, helping children and their families determine what their wishes might be. They also took part in wish celebrations, helping review wish details and create special surprises for the children. Finally, the interns joined families on wishes, providing support wherever needed and experiencing firsthand the impact Make-A-Wish has on children and their families.
Reflections
My Bridging the Gaps experience with Make-A-Wish was, no doubt, the most wholesome and objectively positive professional environment I’ve ever been in. From the employees to the office space itself, Make-A-Wish consistently worked to build a community that felt welcoming. That welcoming spirit showed up most clearly in the Wish Access Fund, which makes sure every family gets the same experience regardless of income, status, or opportunity, so that a wish never depends on what a family can afford. I saw that same care play out in the work itself. On Wish Discoveries, where we sat down with families to investigate possible wishes, I watched how much excitement came from even the concept of a wish, before anything had even been granted. Then, assisting on actual wishes, I saw that excitement turn into something more: a genuinely healing experience for both the family and the Make-A-Wish child. What stayed with me most, though, was the courage I watched over and over again. Kids facing illnesses far more serious than anything I’ve dealt with met their circumstances with a strength I still don’t fully understand, and their families carried that weight right alongside them. Professionally, Make-A-Wish really reinforced that when you’re treating a patient, you are treating their whole family.
William Dippolito
I’ve been interested in pediatrics for a long time, which is why I chose to intern with Make-A-Wish. Looking back, what I’ll remember most isn’t one specific project, but the time I spent with children and their families. Sitting in on Wish Discoveries and seeing a child’s face light up when they realized someone genuinely wanted to know what they wished for was something I looked forward to every time. Watching those conversations turn into actual wishes showed me how powerful hope and joy can be for the wish kid and their entire family. One of the biggest things I took away from this experience was getting to know families outside of a clinical setting. Hearing about their lives, their cultures, and what mattered to them beyond a diagnosis reminded me why I want to work with children in the first place. This summer helped to strengthen the path that I want to take. As I continue my journey in medicine, I know I want to care for children, and Make-A-Wish gave me a deeper understanding of what that really means.
Laury Senecal