Area Kids Get Their 'WISH'

Ninety-one area disadvantaged kids from Isle and Onamia school districts had a brighter Christmas this year thanks to the Wahkon-Izatys-South Harbor (WISH) Lions club.

The kids, aged pre-school to 15, took a shopping trip to Target in Rogers the second weekend in December (the pre-schoolers did not go; volunteers shopped for them).  Teamed with WISH volunteer, the kids shopped for essentials like winter hats, coats, mittens, boots and long underwear. Many got their first glimpses of charitable giving, according to Judi DeZiel, club secretary.

The kids also got a toy or two. Identified by the school district staff, most of the kids were from low-income or single family homes.  Some don’t get Christmas gifts. It is why WISH started this program more than seven years ago.

Though the dollar amounts given to each child vary each year, the child and volunteer experience is the same: smiles on the student’s faces matched by the sense of giving back felt by the volunteers.

“It is one of those events where you receive back so much more than you give,” said Gary Groen, WISH president for three years running.  “I have every volunteer asking to be a part of this event again next year.  To me, that means it has been a great experience.”

The WISH Lions club puts on a popular Mille Lacs-area golf event every year to raise money for the Christmas shopping.  It has been hosted at Izatys and Fiddlestix. WISH has donated more than $24,000 to the shopping trips since its inception.

WISH Lions takes its “Go Serve the Kids” motto very seriously and welcomes new members. It focuses its giving around the southern Mille Lacs Lake areas.

The club meets once a month and welcomes inquiries for joining.  Please contact Lion John Deziel at jedeziel@hotmail.com if you would like to donate or want to be part of a group that works toward rewarding goals.