(From FrolicHawaii.com 12/18/2014) – Amanda Stevens

Macy’s and Make-A-Wish are celebrating the seventh year of the Believe campaign. Up to Dec. 24, people of all ages can bring their letters addressed to “Santa at The North Pole,” and drop it into the special letterboxes inside Macy’s. (You can also create and send a letter online at macys.com/believe.) For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1,000,000.

Damon’s Wish
“There’s no crying in Macy’s!” That thought rang through my mind last Friday, while being among hundreds of onlookers who saw Make-A-Wish and Macy’s grant the wish of a young man named Damon at Ala Moana Center, as part of the Believe campaign.

Damon is from Kaneohe, and he struggles daily with progressive muscular dystrophy, a medical condition that made him eligible for a wish from Make-A-Wish Hawaii. He wished for a beach-accessible wheelchair, one that “looked cool” in true teenager form, but mostly, he wanted the ability to roll across the sand with more ease, something he couldn’t do with his standard chair.

Damon’s wish that unfolded was among 50 wishes granted nationwide that day. A fun fact I learned from Jenna Blakely of Make-A-Wish Hawaii was that of those 50 wishes, 12 Wish Kids learned that their wishes to come to Hawaii are coming true. She also told me about recent wishes granted for other teens and children from Hawaii. Seriously, this is what the holidays are all about, take a look:

On Thanksgiving Day, Kailua teen Tiare, 16, battling chronic kidney disease, got to cheer on game day with the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleaders.

On Hawaii Island, Make-A-Wish Hawaii recently handed over the keys to teen Christian’s dream off-road Polaris vehicle. Christian, 17, battles a chronic kidney condition.

Sharai, 14, of Keaau, who’s battling Hodgkins Lymphoma, recently returned from her Wish Trip to Australia, where she got to do an Animal Encounter.

So this holiday season, slow down and take a moment to write a letter to Santa, your wish will help to make wishes come true.