LITE-FM's Christmas Wish is back, thanks to our friends at Pioneer Federal Credit Union. Our twelfth wish reunited me with some old friends who've gone through an unimaginable year of loss. 

When I picked up today's Wish list this morning and read the story, I went back and looked at the names a second time.  That's when it hit me that the amazing family that Jeff was going to visit are old friends of ours and it just broke my heart that they've gone through so much loss in the last year.

Many of you know that I used to work for one of our sister stations at Townsquare Media Boise.  During my time there, Maggie O'Mara at KTVB reached out to us to be part of a very special 7's Hero project that she was working on.  There was a little boy living with Cerebral Palsy who just lit up and became a different person when he heard Meghan Trainor's music, so his parents and two older brothers launched a campaign to see if anyone could arrange for him to meet her in person at her show at the Ford Idaho Center. Meghan's a friend of the station and we were able to make it happen! We surprised him at his home and that's where we originally met Sarah.

Years later, her friend Rachel reached out to us and told us that Sarah and her husband Tom have experienced an unimaginable year of loss on top of the time they spend caring for their disabled son.  On Sarah's side of the family, she lost her grandmother, grandfather and father.  On Tom's side of the family, he lost his father. They also lost two dear family pets, one of which was hit by a car just a few days ago.

Both Sarah and Tom are struggling to keep smiles on their faces through it all because they're experiencing financial and emotional challenges trying to keep everything together for their sons.  Sarah's also a high school cheer coach who's like a second mom to many of the girls on her squad so she's constantly trying to put smiles on their faces and keep their spirits up. I remember the way her squad looked at her the day we surprised her son and you could tell how much they loved and admired their strong coach.

When Jeff Connell piled into our Team Subaru of Nampa Forester Delivery Sleigh to drop off a little joy for Sarah and Tom, he had no idea that'd I'd met the family before and this wish delivery was extremely special.  Rachel wanted the family to get a little break and have the chance to put food on the table and presents under the tree without worrying it would drain more money from their accounts.  We made that happen with two separate Walmart gift cards for groceries and gifts, a dinner and movie date night for Sarah and Tom and passes to Winter Garden aGlow for a family evening together.  Dinner at Smokey Mountain Pizzeria Grill was the little bow on of it all.

Click where you see the play button on the birdies to listen hear the wish! You can also scroll down to see the original surprise our sister station put together for Sarah's son a few years ago.

Donate to Help Us Grant More Wishes

We want to grant as many wishes as possible in 2018 and we can't do it without your support! If you'd like to make a donation, there's three easy ways to do that!

Donate at PFCU | Pioneer Federal Credit Union is collecting donations at all of their Treasure Valley locations. To find the one closest to you click HERE.

Donate Online | Chances are you've already got a PayPal account set up for your holiday shopping.  Use that same PayPal account or enter your payment information by following the button below.

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