May 8th is Mother’s Day. Every mother wishes for a healthy and happy child. Those wishes don’t always come true. Sometimes very young children are hit with diseases and injuries that would level any adult. Many of them don’t understand why they are sick or how to get better. One thing that they know they can count on is the magic of a wish.
This year, Sheriff John Gilligan and his staff of stalwart deputies have decided that they want to be part of that magic. After seeing a story on one of our local news stations about another Sheriff’s department, the group of Jim Halford, Mike Patterson and Donald Lasoski took the idea of a motorcycle run for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to the sheriff to see what he thought and after a vote, the idea was passed. On Saturday, May 7, you can join with the Sheriff’s Office for a steel-horse run and after-ride party that will let you, too, become part of the magic for some young Luzerne County child.
Stephanie Pugliese, manager of special events for the Make-a-Wish Foundation (MAWF) said that, “All the money goes to the main foundation, and we would like to give it to a Luzerne County child.” She added that, “it takes $3,400 to fund one wish for a child. Since 1987, 312 Luzerne County children’s wishes have been fulfilled, and at this time we have four wishes pending.”
“We are hoping that we can fund all four waiting children, but we’re shooting for at least two,” Gilligan said. They can reach that goal with the help of all those bikers who give something just about every weekend.
Registration for the ride is from 8-11 a.m. in the Mohegan Sun Arena parking lot (not the casino, the arena!). Kickstands go up promptly at 11:30 a.m. for a 50-mile ride through the Pennsylvania countryside escorted by the Sherriff’s Office and many municipal police departments as well as the State Police. The ride ends at the Plains Lions Pavilion where food and refreshments will be provided.
“The Sheriff’s Office wants to start doing more community outreach projects, along the lines of community policing,” Halford said about the ride. “Currently, we run the Junior Deputy project for kids and do the fingerprinting as well.”
He admitted that this motorcycle run was the first for the office but that they’d like to add a Toys for Tots event later this year, too.
““I think this (Make-a-Wish) is a great cause, anything to help those kids out, they are really suffering,” Halford said.
To see the genuine concern for these kids in this tough-as-nails officer’s eyes made it easy to write this story. Everyone at the Sheriff’s Office, including the Motorcycle Unit, will be there to make this day a special one for some local kids and hopefully begin a trend that will follow with many more events like this one.
I asked the sheriffs why do this kind of outreach? Other than the obvious caring for the kids of our county who are in need, Carl Zawatski and Gilligan explained: “Overall, you seem to get more cooperation from the citizens who know you. They are more apt to testify at PFA’s (Protection From Abuse Orders), to report on outstanding warrants and they are more likely to cooperate with law enforcement if they know someone in law enforcement.”
Halford explained that right now they have Lt. Joyce who goes out to the 4th graders in the area and talks to them about drugs, bullying and things like that as part of the Junior Deputy Program. Its programs like these that help with community building in our area.
Regarding the after ride, in addition to the great food and refreshments there will be three bands, Pair of Mikes, Mark Maros Band and Lie Back. So come out to the after party if you don’t have a bike or want to just help out.
A little bit about the MAWF from its website: “The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. A small group of people there helped a very ill little boy achieve his wish — to be a state trooper for a day. From that one wish made 29 years ago, more than 161,000 wishes have been granted throughout 65 chapters in the United States and in 33 countries around the world.”
And so the story continues the first wish was for a young boy to be a State Trooper for a day, and on May 7, you can help the Sheriff’s Office make a wish or two come true for a Luzerne County child. Be there.
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