Wishes are coming true for more children with life-threatening medical conditions thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The SAAC is in the midst of an ambitious project to raise thousands of dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation -- a charitable organization that has granted more than 110,000 wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses since it was founded in 1980.

What makes the project stand out is that it links a national charity with student-athletes who are acting under the flag of the Division II SAAC. While the organizers don't want to interfere with local fund-raising projects, they do want to tap into the power that a national campaign can provide.

"This is great for the student-athletes," said Division II Vice-President Mike Racy, "but it's also good for Division II and the Association in general because it helps the public understand how community-minded our student-athletes are. I know many people hope this spreads to the other divisions and becomes a signature activity for NCAA athletes."

Nicole DeBlois, a junior volleyball student-athlete at Bentley College, said she came up with the idea to support Make-A-Wish because of the positive impact the organization has on the lives of the children it helps.

"I chose Make-A-Wish because I'd done a lot of research on it, and I think it's a great organization that really allows kids who are sick to get a wish," she said. "We're fortunate to have the abilities we do, and for being healthy. A lot of kids don't have that, and I think the fact that we are working with Make-A-Wish is good because it shows that we want to help those who aren't as fortunate as ourselves."

April Selman, an account manager with Make-A-Wish, said the students' commitment to partner with the organization is unique. Only one other collegiate student group -- Chi Omega sorority -- is working nationally on raising funds for the charity.

Selman said children up to 18 years old can choose wishes in four categories: "Wish to Have," "Wish to Be," "Wish to Meet" and "Wish to Go." She said wishes range from wanting to meet famous celebrities to wanting to go to Disney World. One of the more unique wishes, she said, was from a little boy who wanted to work in a pickle factory because pickles were his favorite food.

Recently, Selman said, a little girl near Charlotte, North Carolina, wished to grant all the other wishes pending in her community. More than $1 million was raised by local residents to help the girl achieve her wish.

"We have some pretty selfless children out there," Selman said. "It's amazing."

Birth of a national project

Selman said that each year about 25,000 children are newly diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition. Last year, Make-A-Wish granted 11,000 wishes and the number of wishes granted increases each year.

DeBlois said she first presented the idea of raising money for Make-A-Wish to her fellow SAAC members at the 2003 NCAA Convention. She then worked with Make-A-Wish on a contract detailing the responsibilities of both parties and establishing a minimum fund-raising goal.

The SAAC committed to raising $5,000 for the cause, and the student-athletes plan to work through May to raise the funds. Currently, the group has raised about two-thirds of its $5,000 goal and expects to easily exceed that.

Each school and conference in Division II has been asked to raise funds for the cause, although it's up to each institution to choose its method.

DeBlois said some fund-raisers in her conference, the Northeast-10 Conference, have been unique. One school sold balloons at a football game for $1 each. At halftime there was a ceremony about Make-A-Wish and the balloons were released. At another school, students could buy paper hearts for $1 or $5 and the hearts were strung together around the athletics department in a chain called "Hearts for Hope."

Jaime Petsch, a cross country, skiing and outdoor track student-athlete at St. Cloud State University and a national SAAC member, said her conference, the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, held a car wash last summer that brought in $250 for Make-A-Wish. Her campus, she said, will hold a bowl-a-thon this month to raise money.

"I feel that this project is very important because we are helping to create hope and joy for young children who are facing life-threatening illnesses," she said. "We all have dreams and to be able to help someone live and experience their dream is an unexplainable emotion. If we make only one child smile then we have accomplished what we have set out to do."

An ongoing event

DeBlois said she expects more fund-raisers will be conducted this spring. More than 20 schools and conferences have held events so far, in addition to money raised by the SAAC itself through a spare-change drive at the Convention in January (that initiative took in more than $700).

In addition to fund-raisers, the SAAC has incentives from both the Division II Presidents Council and Division II Management Council to help it reach its goal. The Presidents Council will match any funds up to $5,000, and the Management Council has pledged $5,000 if the SAAC reaches its goal. Thus, if the goal is reached at all, it automatically will be surpassed by several thousand dollars.

"I think the program is awesome, and I'm really proud of these young people," said Kathryn Martin, chancellor of the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Presidents Council liaison to the SAAC. "They're very bright. They put together the equivalent of a business plan and I'm confident they're going to well exceed their goals."

Sue Willey, director of athletics at the University of Indianapolis and chair of the Management Council, said she, too, was impressed with the work that SAAC has done.

"They're just gung ho and very professional, very dedicated," she said. "What's being done is phenomenal. It's a tremendous feat."

To show further support, Willey said the Management Council will do its own fund-raiser in April to raise money for Make-A-Wish. The group will work in concessions at Victory Field in Indianapolis -- the home of minor-league baseball's Indianapolis Indians.

"My feeling was, we ask our kids to do this, how about us leading by example," said Willey, who formerly served as the Management Council's liaison to the SAAC. "I think it will be a lot of fun, plus make some money for the program."

DeBlois, who recently was reappointed to a two-year term on the SAAC, said she has no intention of forgetting about the program come May. She plans to keep the fund-raising going.

Her goal is to have the program become a joint project among the Divisions I, II and III SAACs.

"There are 360,000 student-athletes, and if 360,000 student-athletes would give $1 each, that's $360,000 right there," she said. "That's a huge sum of money and that would grant more than 70 wishes alone. That would just be amazing."