Making Wishes Come True: An Interview with Shimmy Mehta of Angelwish

When you were a child did you have a special wish?  Was there one toy you were desperately hoping to receive for a holiday or your birthday? 

In A Christmas Story we empathize with Ralphie's childhood desire -- borderline obsession -- for the "it" toy. By contrast in Jingle All The Way we sympathize with the parental angst and guilt associated with working to get said "it" toy for our child.  Now imagine this childhood desire and parental angst in the context of a family dealing with a chronic illness. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Shimmy Mehta about his organization, Angelwish, which seeks to connect community angels with children and families with wishes.

Angelwish believes that who knows better what an 8 year old child might like than another 8 year old child. Therefore, they take monetary donations and place them in the hands of volunteer youth shoppers during "Giving Sprees" at toy stores. Here is a great video about one of these wonderful events.



Kyra Sedgwick hosts the the 2nd Annual Angelwish Giving Spree from Angelwish.org on Vimeo.


For more information about Angelwish and how you can help make a wish come true, visit their website.