Upper St. Clair Students Raise $5,800 For Make-A-Wish

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - The Upper St. Clair High School Make-A-Wish Club recently presented nearly $5,800 to Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia to more than fully fund one wish for a qualifying child.

The students were led by club officers junior Lydia McGlinn; sophomores Marina Bulazo, Caroline Sanford and Emma Skeel; and club sponsor Dawn Mostowy, high school science teacher. The funds were raised through a Holiday Hoops basketball tournament, spirit nights at various local restaurants and at the township’s annual Community Day.

According to Mostowy, the high school students are motivated by the opportunity to help other children.

“Last year, one of our officers had actually been a Make-a-Wish kid when he was younger,” she said in a district release. “They feel this is something small they can do to make the life of a suffering child a little brighter.”

To qualify for a wish through Make-A-Wish, children must be diagnosed with a critical illness, should be between 2 ½ and 18 years old at the time of referral and must not have received a wish from another wish-granting organization.

According to the organization’s website, “When we first meet a wish kid, we ask, ‘If you could go anywhere, have anything, be anything or meet anyone, what would it be?’ When a child answers this question, a wish is born.” The cost of providing for one child’s wish is $4,400 and is based on the cost of the most popular wish – a one-week trip to Walt Disney World.

Members of the USC Make-A-Wish Club again will man a booth at the upcoming Upper St. Clair Community Day on Saturday, May 18. Attendees can stop by to try their chances at the club’s lollipop tree carnival game. All proceeds will be added to next year’s Make-A-Wish donation.