Hudson Valley Teen To Help Make-A-Wish Honor Donors

TARRYTOWN, NY — A Hudson Valley teen will be helping to celebrate donors of Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley Thursday at the nonprofit’s Taste of the Hudson Valley event at The Lodge at Hudson Harbor in Tarrytown. Joshua Brennan, 14, of Pawling, will be working along with celebrity Chef Peter X. Kelly to prepare a dish that plays to the teen’s Big Easy cuisine passion: a corn pancake with crabmeat a la “Galatoire,” named after the legendary New Orleans restaurant.

In April, Brennan, who is living with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, had his wish granted for an unforgettable culinary experience in New Orleans, teaming up with Executive Chef Nathan Richard of Cavan Restaurant & Bar.

Brennan helped prepare a lunch that was served to members of French Quarter Engine 39, where Richard serves as a firefighter.

The Taste of the Hudson Valley event, which is private, will also recognize JetBlue for its contribution of flights to wish kids and their families.

“With over 70 percent of our wishes requiring air travel, JetBlue’s donation of flights to wish kids and their families is a tremendous gift for the chapter for which we are deeply grateful,” said Thomas J. Conklin, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley.

The Hudson Valley chapter of Make-A-Wish has granted wishes to more than 2,700 children. The chapter’s territory spans eight counties including Delaware, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a congenital birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart.

Photo caption: Brennan displaying his king cake while his parents, Tom and Kim Brennan, look on. Photo credit: Submitted.