RED BANK — In Red Bank, wishes may come true.
On May 16, students in Red Bank Catholic High School (RBC)’s Make-AWish Club will hold the fourth annual Making Wishes Come True Carnival in the parking lot of Saint James School on Peters Place.
All proceeds will benefit Make-A-Wish New Jersey, a nonprofit that grants wishes for children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions.
Ashleigh Kennedy, a science teacher at RBC and founder of the Make-A-Wish Club, said the club and carnival have incredible meaning for her.
“The club was started four years ago by a group of seniors at the time,” Kennedy said. “They started the club because my daughter, who at the time was 4, was presented with a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
Kennedy said her daughter, Casey, declined to accept the wish and instead allowed another child to have her wish.
“She wanted to grant wishes,” Kennedy said.
Several of Kennedy’s students were then inspired to start a Make-A-Wish Club so that RBC could grant wishes for the Make-AWish Foundation in Casey’s name.
According to Kennedy, the first year started off slowly. But in the years since, donations to the club have steadily raised.
“The largest contribution we’ve been able to make is more than $12,000 from one of the carnivals, and we’ve granted eight wishes,” Kennedy said.
The carnival will have food, games, bounce attractions, rides, prizes, silent auctions, laser tag, face painting, firetruck rides and food donated by MJ’s Pizza Bar & Grill Restaurant. Members of the Red Bank police and fire departments will do the cooking.
Full admission to the carnival, including access to all rides and food, is $10. Admission for food only is $5.
“It’s amazing,” Kennedy said. “RBC is like a family, a community. And every year the students amaze me more and more as far as wanting to get involved and come forward. … We have two [students] last year that started chapters in their colleges, so it’s definitely spreading from RBC. You start out with these little ideas, and all of a sudden it becomes something that’s continuing.
“So it shows I didn’t only make an impact on these kids, but the impact they made on my daughter is astronomical.”
She said her daughter attends every Make-A-Wish carnival and fundraising event.
Bella Murrer, a sophomore at RBC and carnival volunteer, said the carnival always has great energy.
“It’s a really great experience to go there,” Murrer said. “Last year, all the volunteers were so happy to be there, and it was a lot of fun. And we got a lot of joy from watching everyone enjoying themselves while supporting a worthy cause, so it’s a great thing to be a part of.
“The Make-A-Wish Foundation is so important in itself for these kids who have medical conditions to be able to experience something they have always wanted to experience. So the fact that we, as high-schoolers, can help the foundation make these kids have their dreams come true is a magical experience in and of itself.”
For more information, contact Murrer at [email protected].