Wish Book raises over $270,000, bringing happier holidays for South Florida families
.jpeg "David Anaya, 6, celebrates Christmas with his family in Kendall after receiving gifts from the community through Wish Book. (Photo provided by Anaya’s family).")
David Anaya, 6, anxiously waited though dinner at his grandmother’s house in Kendall on Christmas Eve. He could see the presents under the tree.
When it was finally time, David tore open the gifts. He found a laptop and a bicycle donated from members of the Miami community through the Miami Herald’s Wish Book program.
“The boy was happy with his presents,” said his grandmother, Maria Alfonso. “Super happy.”
The laptop was at the top of Anaya’s holiday wish list. When he was 3, David was diagnosed with nuerofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors, sometimes cancerous, to grow on nerves. He has a cancerous tumor on his optic nerve and has also been diagnosed with autism.
After 13 months of chemotherapy, David is attending school and needs a laptop to complete his homework. He’ll be using it on weeknights when he returns to school next week.
David was one of the 19 Wish Book nominees featured in the Miami Herald who received assistance this year. Others received help to purchase medication, furniture, clothing, food, mobility scooters, college books and other items, and make rent and utility payments.
This year, the charity drive has raised $273,745 in cash and about $20,000 in in-kind donations, according to Roberta DiPietro, the coordinator for the Wish Book fundraiser. DiPietro said the charity has helped more people than ever this year, but there are still families and individuals who need lightly used furniture, medical equipment, wheelchair lifts and other assistance. Donations are accepted year-round.
About 200 cases were referred to the Wish Book program by social service agencies in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. Through the fundraiser, about 750 people, deemed among the neediest in the South Florida community, had their wishes granted.
“It’s been great to know that people are out there still caring about each other in the climate we’re in,” DiPietro said. “This is someone helping their neighbors, because this is money that stays in our community.”
Dana Connolly, a 61-year-old Army veteran, is battling stage-four carcinoma in his nose and throat, chronic kidney disease, a spine deformity and a fractured knee. He moved to Miami from the Cayman Islands with his family last year due to declining health, but said he had no way of predicting how his medical costs would cascade and bring his family to the brink of homelessness.
The family is surviving on assistance from Operation Sacred Trust — a program aimed at ending homelessness for veteran families in Broward and Miami-Dade counties — and a $541 monthly Social Security check. Connolly, born in the Cayman Islands but raised in New Jersey, has permanent residency status in the United States. His wife and son are not residents, making them ineligible for government housing or food stamps.
In addition to receiving help with rent payments, his biggest priority, Connolly received clothing, food, household supplies, toys and tickets to a holiday event.
One donation, a $1,000 gift, came with an emotional note: “Dear Dana, I am ex-Army and a cancer survivor. All the best wishes. You are in our prayers. Don’t ever give up.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 12:57 PM.
