By Linda Pauling
Co-Founder of Make-A-Wish
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Forty-five years ago, a community’s single act of kindness didn’t just change my son’s life, it sparked a global movement that continues to heal communities today.
It all started on February 4, 1977, when a long-distance road trip from our home in small-town Illinois to Phoenix, Arizona, took a tragic turn. My 4-year-old son, Chris, fell ill and ended up in the hospital with a leukemia diagnosis. Despite knowing almost no one, we moved to Phoenix, where we had access to top-quality medical care. It was a time filled with fear, isolation and anxiety. Without the internet or social media, there weren’t easy ways to find others who were going through similar circumstances. I would spend hours in the city library with Chris by my side, reading anything I could find about coping with and caring for a child with cancer.
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Chris and I would find reprieve in watching TV together. One show in particular, CHiPs, a drama focused on a fictional police department, hooked Chris. He would talk to me about becoming a police officer one day and could regularly be seen wearing his sheriff’s outfit around town. It was a chance to pretend, to escape.
For three years, Chris and I continued to navigate the challenges and unknowns of leukemia. Our friends, Kay and Tommy Austin, could see the toll the medical journey was taking on us, and had an idea that would change everything.
Tommy, a U.S. Customs agent assigned to the Department of Public Safety, knew how much Chris looked up to law enforcement. He started asking some colleagues if they’d be willing to treat Chris like a fellow officer to help lift his spirits. The word spread, and two weeks later, Chris was invited to the Department of Public Safety headquarters**.** He got to ride in a police helicopter. A local company, John’s Uniforms, hand-stitched a custom uniform. A ceremony was held to swear Chris in as an honorary Department of Public Safety officer—the first in Arizona history.
For Chris, the pure joy he experienced was a stark change from the stress and worry of our day-to-day reality. It felt like a light had been switched on, and we were no longer stumbling around in the dark. The piece of childhood that cancer took away from him—the one that believes in big dreams and boundless possibilities—had been returned.
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For those of us who witnessed Chris’ wish coming true, the power and impact of the experience were undeniable. The wish ignited a spark that would eventually grow into a worldwide movement called Make-A-Wish. It’s an organization that has granted more than 615,000 wishes in 50 countries since 1980. I genuinely believe every soul has a purpose, and inspiring Make-A-Wish was Chris’.
Decades later, it’s clear to me that our small group of founders—none of whom had any experience running a nonprofit—tapped into something core to the human experience … a desire to connect and contribute. This, I believe, is the hidden value of giving back, and it’s what I want to draw attention to as we celebrate the holiday season.
In a time when so much seems to pull us apart, charitable causes like Make-A-Wish allow us to focus on our shared humanity and the lasting impact we can have when we collectively seek to solve life’s biggest challenges.
At Make-A-Wish, we often talk about the ripple effect of a wish: how it transforms the lives not just of the child and their immediate family, but everyone involved. There’s a powerful feeling of connectedness that comes from locking arms with people from different backgrounds and walks of life to make the impossible possible for a child in need. It creates a sense of meaning, purpose and belonging—all while delivering hope and joy to children and their families.
This holiday season, I encourage you to look for opportunities to engage in the kind of collective action that brings people together and spreads joy. Whether it's volunteering for a local organization, leading a neighborhood clean-up, donating to a cause you believe in, or helping a friend in need, the specifics are less important than the shared intent. Giving back together is a powerful gift—not just for the recipient, but for every individual seeking connection in a world that deeply needs it.
Linda Pauling co-founded Make-A-Wish America in 1980 after her then-7-year-old son Chris received his wish to be a police officer while undergoing treatment for leukemia. The experience inspired Linda and others to start the global wish-granting movement, and she has since spent 45 years championing the power of collective generosity to spark hope and belonging for families navigating critical illness.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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