RIDGECREST, Calif. - The impact of the pandemic has been felt by many, including children waiting to have their wishes granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
23abc's Alex Daugherty spoke to the organization and one young girl waiting for her wish to come true.
"The world at Make-A-Wish has certainly changed, changed in the sense of funding being down and our wishes being paused." said the Jennifer Stolo, the President and CEO of Make-A-Wish.
Stolo expressed the challenges the organization is facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating their ability to grant wishes has been down.
"What we're finding is that typically we grant about four hundred wishes a year, we'll probably be at about half of that because of these travel wishes." shared Stolo.
Make-A-Wish has continued to come up with creative ways to continue granting wishes in light of the current events.
"Because we want to keep that social distancing," Stolo continued, "We call it the Hope Patrol and they actually help us to deliver the wishes to a child's doorstep, to their drive-way, they may yell from the sidewalk and we coordinate that with the family, so that child can still come out on their doorstep and really experience that excitement of receiving their wish."
Ridgecrest native, Kylie Hill, who battles a rare cancer is still waiting on her wish, that her father says is much needed.
"She has three older brothers and she's the only girl in the house, so she needs her own space." the Hill family shared.
Kylie also shared wisdom that she wishes other kids battling health problems will take away.
"Make sure not to like say that this isn't turning out good, and like make sure to stay positive." said Kylie.
Advice not to be taken for granted.
If you would like to help Make-A-Wish Foundation you can visit centralcawish.org or call 559-558-8062.
