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Pictured above are participants of the Jr. High Rock-A-Thon held at St. Joseph's Church in Augusta. These folks collected $1250.00 in support of Amelia's Wish.Amelia is the girl with the pink hat in the photo. She and her parents showed up to thank the following supporters:
- Gardiner Faith Formation families and children
- St. Michael School, Augusta – $331.75
- Knights of Columbus – Canabas Council, Gardiner – $262
- Girl Scout Troop #1844, Gardiner - $56.25
- Jr. High Students held a Rock-A-Thon - $600
Many thanks to organizer Terry Gagne, Parish Catechetical Leader for St. Michael Parrish in Augusta.
"Together, in our own small way, we helped make a wish come true!!" said Gagne.
  Olive Garden of Augusta gave a $1,000 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. The restaurant routinely offers wish families and volunteers a place to host wish send-off parties. Pictured here with Jim Christie, Director of Development, is server Jessica Turcotte (right) and General Manager Cindy Treat (center) with Christie. Six-year-old Paige (right) of Vassalboro is a recent wish child who had her wish party at the Olive Garden before her wish to go to Walt Disney World was granted.
 This winter season many people showed their support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine by donating at the cash registers of VIP Parts, Tires and Service (VIP) stores throughout Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. VIP’s second annual fundraising campaign was a great success and exceeded last years total by nearly $5,000.
Over the course of the campaign, which ran from November through December, VIP helped Make-A-Wish raise a total of $47,073 from generous customer donations. For their compassion, customers were given a paper Make-A-Wish star on which they could write their name or magnetic Make-A-Wish star for their car.
“Every VIP team member worked very hard at making this campaign a great success because we all wanted to put as many smiles on as many faces that we could,” said Michael Stefano, Director of Merchandising for VIP Parts, Tires and Service.
“The commitment that the people throughout VIP Parts, Tires & Service have shown during this event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation has been nothing short of inspirational,” said Jim Christie, Director of Development for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. “We cannot thank them enough for their continued support to our wish children and look forward to working with them again.”
An upcoming wish that was made possible by this donation is 17-year-old Travis Meserve from South Portland. Travis and his family traveled to Atlantis and met celebrity athletes while there!
 Ocean of Possibilities, owned by wish granter Deborah Bergeron, will be donating a portion of its fees to Make-A-Wish. The life coaching business hopes to give a total donation to Make-A-Wish of $5,000. Deb began volunteering for the Foundation in 2002 and has since been involved with 10 wishes. Her passion stems from when she was young, someone close to her was diagnosed with cancer. She traveled to Boston for treatments with this person and said that a wish would have been a light during those dark days. "As a wish granter, I get to see kids light up with the Power of a Wish. The Foundation is very near and dear to my heart and I'd like to help more kids have their wishes granted," said Deb.
 January 6, 2010 - Norton Lights of Wells, Maine raised $6,002 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine, which is enough to make a seriously ill child’s wish come true.
Stan Norton and his wife, Melissa were better known this holiday season as “Stanta” and “Mrs. Claus” as they dressed the part while running their light show and handing out candy canes.
The Nortons decorated their home with custom-made lights that they programmed to change with holiday music. To broadcast the music, they made an FM transmitter station in their living room. By listening to the radio, people were able to enjoy the 9-minute show.
Over the course of the fundraiser, “Stanta” and his wife gave 2,000 candy canes to visitors who watched the show from their cars. At one point, the show drew such a large crowd that there was a 40-minute wait to get to their house.
“The lights display was wonderful and we were proud to be a part of it,” said James Christie, Director of Development at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. “The generosity of the Norton family and the entire community was truly something special, and the fact that they raised enough in donations to grant the greatest wish of another Maine child with a life-threatening medical condition is nothing short of a ‘Christmas Miracle’.”
The Norton family initially became familiar with Make-A-Wish through Stan’s job at Pease Air National Guard Base where he sees many Make-A-Wish recipients. Witnessing children’s wishes at the base inspired Stan to make a difference using his talent of programming lights to music.
“We are touched beyond words. It truly is amazing what Make-A-Wish and its staff does,” said Stan. “Thank you so much! It means a lot to us to be associated with this great organization.”
The whole family worked hard to help raise money. Their sons Ryan, age 9, managed the spreadsheets and Reed, age 12, helped with programming.
“The boys have learned a great deal about electrical engineering as well as how to give back to the community at large,” said Melissa Norton.
The money raised by Norton Lights will grant a wish to 7-year-old Hayley Desjardins of Saco, Maine. Hayley, whose wish is to go to Walt Disney World, lives with a blood disorder called aplastic anemia.
Hayley told Make-A-Wish volunteers that she wanted her wish to be Disney because she “has been saving for a year to go.” She also said that she is looking forward to it because she will not have to go to school, but quickly added that she likes school; “it’s just good to take a break.”
Hayley’s mother, Allison, said that they are “extremely humbled by all that Make-A-Wish is doing for Hayley. We are all very excited.”
Norton Lights started four years ago, when Stan and his brother Jon challenged each other to a holiday contest to see who could put up more lights in their yard. It was close, but Stan finished ahead and decided to put all the publicity he received towards a good cause and has been giving back ever since.
There was a great turnout and several wish children and families stopped by to see the display. Norton Lights plans to continue this fundraiser next year to make another Maine child’s wish come true.
“All of us at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine thank the Norton family from the bottom of our hearts!” said Christie. For more information about Make-A-Wish, please visit www.mainewish.org.
Listen to how and why Stantec raises money for Make-A-Wish!
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