Make-A-Wish partner society founded at Dalhousie

Two students at Dalhousie University have founded a new society to raise funds for Make-A-Wish Canada. 

Zeen Ali and Angel Womack will launch Dal Make-A-Wish this fall after partnering with the non-profit organization to be a third-party fundraiser. 

Ali, a former Make-A-Wish kid and third-year medical science student at Dal, has been looking for ways to give back to the organization.

“It’s an honour; I’m very pleased to be able to do this,” says Ali. “I know a lot of wish kids who don’t get the chance to continue and give back. This is not only for me, but it’s on behalf of all the other wish kids who want to thank Make-A-Wish.”

The society plans to host and organize events to raise funds for the national charity, such as regular bake sales and bingo nights. More events will be planned throughout the academic year.

The idea came about last winter, when Ali and Womack discussed the potential society while working together at their job. The pair’s goal is to sponsor a wish solely through the funds raised by the society. 

“Watching the group come together has been really crazy amazing,” says Womack, a first-year medical science student at Dalhousie. “It’s been such a huge honour.”

Womack has previous experience organizing monthly bake sales to raise money for Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank, a local non-profit organization in Halifax. 

Student organizations similar to Dal Make-A-Wish are at universities across the country, but Dal’s is the first of its kind in Nova Scotia.

Ali says the society has gained a lot of student interest since it began posting on its Instagram page in August, and the pair have already begun adding yearly representatives to help spread the word. 

“We hope a lot of other schools and students take inspiration from us,” says Ali. “Our biggest role is to make Make-A-Wish more known and give students and faculty a chance to engage with it directly to see the magic first-hand.”

Hollie Quick is the senior development officer for community partnerships at Make-A-Wish’s Nova Scotia chapter in Dartmouth, N.S. She says that the foundation is trying to encourage students to form third-party fundraising organizations across the nation. 

“We are seeing the surge of youth stepping up and giving back,” says Quick. “It’s really encouraging.”

 The foundation will help the Dal society with fundraising events, including official branded decor and digital tools to make it easier for the student group to collect donations online.

“I want [students] to get volunteer experience with [Make-A-Wish] and see how amazing and impactful the work they do is first-hand,” says Ali. “It’s truly magical.”