NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — A Valentine's Day fundraiser in Tallahassee raised more than $43,000 for Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida, granting the wishes of at least 5 local children facing critical illnesses.
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The "Over the Edge" event on Feb. 14 saw community members and City of Tallahassee leaders — including the mayor, fire chief, police chief, and their families, friends, and coworkers — rappel 16 stories down the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Tallahassee.
Director of Development Kathleen Hampton said fundraising is critical to the organization's mission, noting the average cost of a wish is $8,000.
"Make-A-Wish does not receive any federal or state funding, so therefore, we depend on individuals and businesses as well as foundations to contribute towards our plan to grant wish," Hampton said.
About 54 children in the region are currently on the waitlist for a wish.
Hampton said some of the most recently funded wishes belong to kids in Leon and Wakulla counties.
"These wishes really are vital to providing the strength and hope that children and their families depend on to make it through months and months of medical treatment," Hampton said.
For Tallahassee mother Betsy Silverman, the impact of Make-A-Wish became personal when her 6-year-old daughter, Bailey, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2023 and became eligible for the program.
"It was terrifying at first because anytime you think Make-A-Wish, you think, 'Ok, this is a really bad thing that our daughter's been diagnosed with,'" Silverman said.
Those feelings changed when Bailey received her wish last year.
"Bailey's Make-A-Wish was to go see Moana in Hawaii and visit the Hawaii beach," Silverman said.
Silverman said the experience gave her family a much-needed reprieve from the weight of Bailey's illness.
"It was definitely a just a breath of fresh air to be able to get away because, like I said, we're dealing with the hospital visits,” Silverman said.
“She went through surgery, and even to this day it's one of those things where we don't know it's going to come back, so the Make-A-Wish trips really are creating a lifetime memory.”
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