Volunteer Spotlight

Congratulations to the following volunteers on being recognized through the Helpline Center:

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

DAWN RIX

BLACK HILLS, SD KARISSA KOPECKY

BROOKINGS, SD NANCY WAHLSTROM

SIOUX EMPIRE, SD

2021 HELPLINE SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM HONOREE

DAN KAISER

SIOUX EMPIRE, SD

I wish to have an accessible backyard playset

Katelyn, 7 nervous system disorder

Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana would like to thank our 300 volunteers.

Hope Begins with You

You create hope for children with critical illnesses when they need it most. Now more than ever, hope is essential. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to granting life-changing wishes for wish kids and their families. Together, we transform lives, one wish at a time ℠ .

“Your Cans. Their Wish.”

Gerald Schied’s Story

Wish granter Gerald Schied has made it his mission to raise money through aluminum can sales to support life-changing wishes for children with criti cal illnesses. He started collecti ng scrap metal and aluminum cans for personal reasons; however, as his collecti on of metals grew, he wanted to make a greater impact.

Gerald contemplated what to do with his growing can collecti on. One commercial sparked Schied’s interest: “I kept seeing Make-A-Wish commercials on TV and newspapers, something was drawing me in there. I looked at my son and said: ‘Why don’t we just haul them in and have them make the check out to Make-A-Wish?”

What started as a small operati on with his son has quickly snowballed into an impactf ul initi ati ve. Today, Gerald has a network of 250 people including friends, acquaintances, and community members who collect aluminum cans and other scrap metal—all in support of Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana. “Your Cans. Their Wish.” That is the simple message displayed on his pickup truck.

With the increase in can suppliers, Gerald had to opti mize his system—he ordered storage totes, built a can crusher and scheduled can pickups into his calendar. Gerald can store about 9,000 cans in each of his 131 storage totes and maintains a multi faceted can pick up schedule.

Gerald’s most recent collecti on of cans was collected over the past three years, and as his storage totes fi lled, he decided it was ti me to start hauling the cans to the recycling plant. Aft er multi ple trips to the plant, the fi nal count was tallied: one million cans! The massive can collecti on resulted in a $40,000 check to Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana, adding to his previous donati on of $65,000. Through the years, Gerald has donated over $100,000 to help Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana grant life-changing wishes for children with criti cal illnesses.

We are incredibly grateful for Gerald’s commitment to our mission of granti ng wishes for children with criti cal illnesses. His generosity with his ti me and resources has made an impact on our Make-A-Wish community. Through the years, Gerald has donated over $100,000 to help Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana grant life-changing wishes for children with criti cal illnesses.

What started as a small operation with his son has snowballed into an impactful initiative.

Adopt-A-Wish®

Our Adopt-A-Wish program off ers individuals, businesses, foundati ons, or events the opportunity to make a wish come true for a specifi c child in South Dakota and Montana when they donate or raise $5,000 or more!

Learn how you can adopt a wish by contacti ng us at 800.640.9198.

Adopt-A-Wish partners Craig and Pat Lloyd att ended Javin’s hot tub wish reveal.