Golfing for Wish Kids

Golfers gathered at on Monday to help keep wishes coming true for kids with serious illnesses.

Make-a-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island held its 20th annual charitable golf tournament at the Peabody club in part to also celebrate 25 years of wishes.

The tournament featured on-hole Snack Holes with the Fenway Sausage Guy and Narragansett beer and a Hole-in-One opportunity to win a Mercedes-Benz convertible. There was also a live auction with John Terrio and Bob Neumeier acted as emcee.

The highlight of the day, however, was an appearance by special guests who had their dreams come true thanks to the organization. Lindsey Ashworth, 11, kicked off the day, singing the national anthem and Nolan Harrison, 6, and Colin Dowd, 20, spoke to the golfers during the dinner program and awards ceremony.

An aspiring songstress, Lindsey's dream was to perform with the cast of "Glee" and she and her family recently flew out to Los Angeles to meet her idols, tour the set and try out some signature moves on the set risers thanks to Make-a-Wish.

The Fairhaven girl has a life-threatening autoimmune disease. She said the experience in LA was the "best day of [her life]."

Nolan Harrison's dream was to meet the Boston Bruins. The high-spirited youngster has undergone two open heart surgeries to correct complications from a congenital heart condition. That hasn't stopped him from taking skating lessons in hopes of playing professional hockey himself some day.

So the day before his sixth birthday, a limousine arrived at his Norwood home to take him to Boston to meet his sports heroes. Nolan was the bench assistant during warm-ups and watched the Bruins skate to a win from Patrice Bergeron's private box. Afterward several players signed autographs for him, posed for photos and wished him a happy birthday.

“I got a fist pump from Thornton and a puck from Chara!” Nolan said.

As for Colin Dowd, of Hatfield, he just wanted to travel to Alaska. So he did.

Last summer, Colin (after seven months of cancer treatment) took in the wilds of Alaska during a weeklong trip with his family.

“From the moment I heard the words, ‘You have cancer,’ I knew that, for any chance of survival, I needed to stay positive. My trip to Alaska was, to put it briefly, spirit-lifting… a goal, a dream, a wish -- all made possible by this foundation,” he said.