Oswego County BOCES Regional Summer School took place at Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square this summer. For the past six years, students enrolled in the Regional Summer School have raised money in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, Inc. Make-A-Wish is a non-profit organization dedicated to granting wishes to children between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 who are living with life-threatening medical conditions. They provide the wish child and their family with extra-special memories and an opportunity to experience some fun away from the hospital, doctors and treatments.

Students in grades 7-12 took part in the fund-raising efforts in several different ways. Middle school students participated in two hat days to help raise money for the cause and monetary contributions were collected throughout the entire six weeks of school. The final fundraiser for Make-A-Wish was “Guess How Many M & Ms are in the Jar?” For 50 cents a guess, students could take a chance at winning a large jar filled with colorful M&M candies. The winner was John Siler, a middle school student from Emerson J. Dillon Middle School in Phoenix, with his guess of 1,864. The jar contained 1,866 M&M’s.

Overall, the students raised $150 to help this important cause. Ms. Andrea Marshall, Director of Development from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, accepted the donation on the final day of classes, August 11, 2009.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is dedicated to granting special wishes to children between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 who are living with a life-threatening medical condition. The only two requirements for eligibility are the child must be medically eligible as determined by their physician and the wish must truly be the child’s own. Children and their immediate family who are dealing with a life-threatening medical condition and treatments are given an opportunity for an extra special memory through their wishes.

The local Make-A-Wish chapter serves 15 counties in Central New York and all monies raised by the Summer School will be used by the local chapter.

While the cost of wishes varies widely, on average it takes nearly $6,500 to grant a single wish. Last year the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York granted 80 wishes to area children and since its inception in 1985, MAW has granted more than 1,140 wishes.

For information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York, Inc. or to find out how you can help make wishes come true for local children, call 1-800-846-9474 or 474-9474 or e-mail at info@makeawishcny.org.