FAIRMONT — Every child has a wish, a wish that is hoped and prayed for with eyes squeezed tightly shut, that will make the most dreadful day just a little easier to bear, that will make a young soul burdened with sorrows sing a little louder.

You can help make the wishes of some very special Marion County children ... Cortney Bright ... Christopher Kittle ... Raven Orr ... Andrew Walker ... come true.

They are Marion’s current Make-a-Wish kids. Each is coping with a life-threatening illness while still carrying with day-to-day life.

“Each child touches you,” said Marian Buchanan-Silverstein, president/CEO of Make-a-Wish Foundation of Northern West Virginia.

“They all come here with their own stories and experiences with Make-a-Wish. I think that anybody who is a part of it realizes that they touch our hearts as much as we touch theirs.

“We have four kids now and just completed several. The last two years, Marion County was the most populated for our wishes in any other area in Northern West Virginia.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions “to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.”

Almost half the wishes with the local foundation are for trips to Walt Disney World, which averages $3,500 for seven days for a family of four. The average cost of all wishes is from $3,500-$5,000.

This is where you can help. The foundation is bringing back “A Taste of Marion County,” to be held Friday, April 17, at Westchester Village, featuring mouth-watering specialities from Marion restaurants.

“A lot of people don’t think by attending an event or buying a ticket that they can help. But believe me, it helps. It helps,” she said.

Besides Westchester Village, other participating facilties include Aquarium Lounge, Cakes with a Personal Touch, Colasessano’s (which hosted the annual Wish pizza party), Country Club Bakery, Poky Dot, Valley Worlds of Fun/WV Conference Room and Waterfall Cafe.

For ticket information, call Make-a-Wish at 304-292-5600.

Make-a-Wish children must be over age 2½ and under 18 at the time of referral, have been referred to the foundation and determined to be medically eligible for a wish by their physician. The child’s treating physician makes the final determination of whether the medical condition qualifies him or her for a wish.

The foundation works through individual contributions, corporate donations, foundation grants, planned gifts, and chapter fees and assessments, and relies on in-kind contributions to lessen the cost of goods and services. Local chapters are funded in much the same way and also rely on special events and in-kind donations. Make-A-Wish Foundation does not engage in telemarketing, door-to-door or e-mail solicitation, or chain letters.

A lot of people have the wrong idea about Make-a-Wish, Buchanan-Silverstein said.

“So many think it’s a last wish, so to speak, for these kids. But that’s not true anymore. With so many new medicines and research, these kids are living to have productive lives.

“We come into a child’s life when they really, really need it. When you look at a child, you see that the whole family is involved, not just the child. But siblings and parents suffer, too, a lot of them financially and emotionally.

“We make that one special wish they’ve wanted their young little life come true. I like to say we’re the magic behind all the trauma and hardships these children have to go through.

“Some wishes are more costly than others, but we like to take each wish into consideration,” she said.

“If we can make it happen, it happens. I’ve been with Make-a-Wish for 11 years now and I don’t know if there was any wish that we didn’t complete.

“We get it done, first of all, through the wonderful people of the community referring a child. That’s where it starts. Anybody can refer a child. Children even have referred themselves.

“This is the heart and soul of our organization. Every child who comes to us, if they qualify, believe me, they’re gonna get their wish.”

Sponsors are vital, she said. “When we’re fundraising and we get sponsors from the area to give us money for the program, this is where people can actually do the wish.

“Even with the recession and economy, we don’t shut our doors. We still have wishes come in every day. If I have to go out myself and get the money, I will. But we’re pretty good.”

With only four paid employees, the local chapter relies heavily on volunteers, she said. She started as a volunteer in Florida.

“This is my soul food. These children have taught me a lot about life. The lessons they can teach us as adults are just amazing.

“I always say if anybody out there thinks they’re having a bad day, just give me a call and I’d love to take them to a hospital and see what it’s like for these kids.

“When you see a family with a child suffering from a life-threatening illness, it makes you very grateful for the things you have.”

For more information or to refer a child, call the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Northern West Virginia at 304-292-5600 or visit nwestva.wish.org.

E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.