Foundations grant seniors' wishes

• Groups try to show that seniors should be appreciated for their accomplishments
• The wish-granting movement appears to be spreading across the nation
• Their mission is similar to that of the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Tom Burgett, a 70-year-old man in the latter stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — which makes it difficult to breathe — had a wish to explore the world without leaving his wheelchair and oxygen tank.

Burgett wanted to receive postcards from destinations across the globe so he could see the world without traveling and be in touch with people worldwide.

He contacted Wish of a Lifetime Foundation in August, and the group reached out to the public via Twitter and Facebook. One month later, Burgett had received more than 1,400 postcards from more than 65 destinations as far away as Istanbul and China, according to Jeremy Bloom, the founder of Wish of a Lifetime.

With a mission similar to that of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to ill children, the Wish of a Lifetime Foundation and the Twilight Wish Foundation give seniors nationwide the opportunity to turn lifelong goals into realities.

Founders Cass Forkin of Twilight Wish and Bloom created their respective organizations based on the idea that seniors should be appreciated and rewarded for their accomplishments.

"We are talking about a generation that has been through so much," Bloom says. "They have encountered so much of this nation's history, from the boats of Pearl Harbor to the Great Depression to Vietnam and so much more. I just wanted a find a way to show that we appreciate them."

"We have a lack in our country of showing and honoring those who have paved the path for us that we care," Forkin says. "I wanted to change that."

The Twilight Wish Foundation was born in 2003 after Forkin anonymously covered the bill for a group of female seniors struggling to pay at a diner in Doylestown, Pa.

Forkin says the women were overly grateful, inspiring her to create an organization that would "make the world a nicer place to age, one wish at a time" — a quote that is now front and center on the foundation's website.

For the Twilight Wish Foundation, applicants must be over 68 and have an income of less than 200% of the poverty level or be residents of a nursing facility and do not have the ability to make their dreams come true.

The Wish of a Lifetime Foundation was founded in 2008 by Bloom, a two-time Olympic skier, 11-time World Cup gold medalist, entrepreneur and former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Bloom created the organization in honor of his grandmother, Donna Wheeler.

Wish of a Lifetime has similar guidelines for submission. In order To be eligible, Wish of a Lifetime participants must be at least 65, be a legal resident or citizen of the USA and be unable to fulfill the wish on their own.

"After traveling the world, I started to see unique acts of kindness towards the elderly and was inspired to give back," Bloom said. "I wanted to create a platform to not only make dreams and wishes come true but also to encourage people in our country to do a better job of saying thank you to a generation who did so much for us."

Forkin and Bloom are deeply embedded in each of their organizations.

On Sept. 11, Forkin personally granted recipient Miriam Krause, a resident at Saint Martha Manor, a nursing home in Downingtown, Pa., a 100th birthday wish to ride in a hot air balloon. Krause was fixated on the idea, despite concerns expressed by Dave Fournier, director of Saint Martha Manor's recreation services.

"I thought it would be a stretch because she is just turning 100," Fournier says. "I suggested other options for wishes, but she wasn't giving up. I am so proud of her and happy with the way things turned out."

Krause, a retired librarian, compared her experience with reading a novel. "Like reading, going up in the hot air balloon raised my spirits and gave me a new perspective on life," she says. "It was beyond all my expectations. I was on cloud nine!"

"It was so wonderful to see how personally delighted Cass was to make this wish come true for Miriam," Fournier says of working with Forkin. "Now that this wish was successful, I would love to work with them again."

Bloom reached out to Burgett of Gadsden, Ala., was delighted with the postcards from when he asked Wish of a Lifetime for a postcard collection from scenic locations across the globe. Burgett wanted to ignite his passion for travel by visually exploring these destinations through postcards.

"Every single one of them seems to be written by a friend of mine to me," Burgett says. "Everyone wants to read all the cards that I get. It's addictive!"

Both foundations strive to grant as many wishes as possible. Some noteworthy wishes granted: a trip to the Grand Canyon, meeting President George W. Bush, providing hearing aids, going to a baseball game, renewing wedding vows and going to a racetrack.

The Twilight Wish Foundation has fulfilled 1,748 wishes and receives approximately 120 to 150 wishes per year, granting 78%. Wish of a Lifetime data from the month of September, the foundation has granted 476 wishes to date.

The wish-granting movement appears to be spreading across the nation.

The Bucket List Foundation in Arizona, Forever Young Senior Wish Organization in Tennessee and S.H.O.W. (Seniors Having One Wish) Foundation in California are smaller organizations that have a similar goal.

"I think the more organizations that start with a goal ... of saying thank you to this generation, the better. I think it's hard to find an under-served area in non-profit and this is one of them," Bloom says. "If we can motivate other organizations as well, I think that's fantastic."