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By January 4th, Make-A-Wish had received $500,000 of the $1,000,000 goal. Kevin Donnalley of the Carolina Panthers had previously met Hope over the summer and started getting the team involved in raising money. Two sets of playoff tickets were donated by John & Mark Richardson of the Carolina Panthers to help raise money. Hope was interviewed with Kevin on national TV. The Charlotte Observer’s Don Hudson wrote wonderful article about Hope’s story.
The community also became engaged in the effort and the goal was soon within reach. The city of Charlotte, Charlotte’s Center City Partners, and Bank of America helped raise money by organizing a Carolina Panther’s rally for Hope. Held in downtown Charlotte, the main street was choked closed by the more then 15,000 people who showed up to support the Super Bowl bound Panthers and Hope! Upwards of $50,000 was raised at the 3 hour Pep rally, getting us even closer to the goal. Individuals, schools, organizations, and corporations all helped us raise money for Hope’s wish.
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On January 16th, 2004, thirty days from when Hope first expressed her wish, we held the 1st Annual “Celebration of Hope”. Hope couldn’t attend the event in person having lost her battle with cancer (but passing knowing her wish was going to come true) just a few days before, but her spirit was strongly felt. Almost 1,000 people from every walk of life filled the ballroom of the Westin Hotel in uptown Charlotte to celebrate Hope’s life and grant her wish.
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By the end of the evening, thanks to an excellent live auction featuring some fantastic items, the offical announcement was made that that evening Make-A-Wish had received over $1.1 million in donations on Hopes behalf! Hope’s wish was granted! It was granted because a little girl with a strong faith in God, showed all of us that caring for others is more important than caring about yourself. She said, “I have 100% faith in God that we can do this.” And God and SHE did it!
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