Make-A-Wish Founders Visit Tarrytown

Last week, Tarrytown hosted two individuals that have helped facilitate granting almost a quarter-million wishes to children suffering from terminal and serious, non-terminal, illnesses. 

Frank and Kitty Shankwitz, the founders of The Make-A-Wish Foundation, spoke to the Chamber of Commerce last Thursday at OnTrack Sports Center in Tarrytown. The organization is fast-approaching its 30-year anniversary celebration, after one wish, in May of 1980, started it all. 

It began in Arizona with Chris Greicius, a boy who was first diagnosed with Leukemia when he was four years old. Chris' condition continued to get worse. When he became seven years old, it was apparent that Chris would not win the battle with the disease.

His mother was determined to grant her boy his dream to be a highway patrol officer – like in his favorite TV show, CHiPs.  At the time, Shankwitz was with the Arizona Highway Patrol, and in the perfect position to make Chris' dream come true. 

After some strings were pulled, Chris was taken to a state police station via a state police helicopter. It was the first time Shankwitz would meet Chris. The officer was expecting to see a frail boy, but he had underestimated how much a wish could energize someone. 

"He jumped out of the helicopter with the biggest smile on his face," Shankwitz said. 

While his dream was sitting right there in front of him, Chris became afraid of riding on Shankwitz's motorcycle. Shankwitz pointed out that the youngster had just come via helicopter, to which Chris replied, "But helicopters have doors."

Instead, Chris was taken for a ride in a patrol car, and as he rounded a corner he blew a huge bubble with some gum. Shankwitz gave a remark about Chris being the "Bubble Gum Trooper." The name stuck and would be the title of a book Chris' mom would write, Little Bubble Gum Trooper, which is about Chris and the start of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The troopers were so moved by how Chris, a child with terminal cancer, could be so lively and exuberant in the face of his illness.

"I still can't fathom how a child could know that," Shankwitz said.

The troopers vowed to do more for Chris after he was taken home from the station. They went to a tailor and whipped up a miniature State Patrol uniform. Shankwitz delivered it to his home the next day.

Chris, ever ready to be a trooper, already had an electric motorcycle he used instead of a wheelchair. He donned his new uniform and rode around his front driveway and in between cones that were set up by patrolmen. 

That's when Shankwitz got the idea to make Chris a real trooper. He ordered a custom pair of trooper wings and got approval to make Chris an honorary member of the Arizona State Troopers. 

Shortly after Chris received his uniform, he fell into a coma. Shankwitz rushed to the hospital. He found the boy in his bed, in a coma, with his Highway Patrol uniform hanging by his side. 

Chris woke when Shankwitz arrived, and smiled when he was presented with his Arizona trooper wings. That night, he passed away. 

"I like to think those wings carried him to heaven," Shankwitz said. 

Chris was given a burial fit for an officer, with a full police escort. He was the first and only honorary Highway Patrolman in the history of the State of Arizona.

A few months later, the Make-A-Wish Foundation was born, granting about 15 wishes over the next three years. 

"It started with the basic concept and other states started saying they wanted to get involved," Shankwitz said.

Today, there are 64 national chapters, and 35 chapters in 26 countries outside the U.S. Nearly 250,000 wishes have been granted since the Bubble Gum Trooper first met Shankwitz.

Last week, Shankwitz was visiting the Hudson Valley chapter headed by President Thomas Conklin. He said the chapter, based in Tarrytown, is one of the most exemplar outfits of the organization. 

"Its's one of our more involved chapters," Shankwitz said. "It's all because of the community here."

"It's a shame that our organization has to exist," he continued. "But it's organizations like Make-A-Wish that makes a difference in the lives of families."