Make a Wish is one of the five organizations chosen by Lionakis employees for 2016. The Lionakis Foundation was able to grant another wish this year, this time for Timmy. Timmy is 10 years old, loves all things Star Wars, the color yellow, and Peyton Manning. He’s a pretty normal kid except that last year he was diagnosed with cancer. His world has been turned upside down since then, filled with too many doctors and treatments. The Make a Wish Foundation recognized the struggle that Timmy and his family are going through and brought them into the Wishing Center so Timmy could wish upon a star. His wish was to visit Disney World, and just 2 weeks from now, Timmy will be traveling to Florida and Universal Studios with his parents and 2 younger brothers for 10 days of fun!

Jackie Rudd, our Director of the Lionakis Foundation, had the opportunity to meet Timmy and his family last week. The Make a Wish Foundation held a meet and greet for the families and their sponsors to spend some time together. She described her experience as, “Those have been my best 2 hours spent this year. Timmy’s parents, Angela and Warren, were so open about how difficult the past year has been and so incredibly thankful to the Lionakis Foundation for sponsoring Timmy’s wish. We spent that time talking, sharing stories, crying, and laughing while watching Timmy and his younger brothers play with light sabers. Our graphics team made Timmy a calendar to help him countdown to his wish trip, which was a highlight that night (along with the light sabers we brought). It was such a blessing to see firsthand what our contributions to the Lionakis Foundation can really do in the community.” If you’d like to follow Timmy and his journey, check out #TimmyStrong on Facebook.