This Make-A-Wish volunteer couple have been making kids’ wishes come true for more than 3 decades

This Make-A-Wish volunteer couple has been making kids' wishes come true

April is World Wish Month. WTOP has teamed up with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic to spotlight the amazing kids and volunteers that are part of this organization. To view our coverage, learn more about how you can become a WishMaker and make a donation, visit our Make-A-Wish hub.

Marlene Thomas says she first saw an ad for Make-A-Wish in her local paper more than 30 years ago.

“I was looking for a way to really give back to my community and volunteer,” she told WTOP.

At first, she says wasn’t sure about volunteering. But after she had her first interview with a Wish Kid she, “knew that this was something that I would be doing for a very long time,” Marlene said.

“You see their excitement in just talking about what it is they want,” Marlene added, talking about how special it is when a child gets presented with options for their Wish.

After three-plus decades, granting wishes for children is still something that moves Marlene each and every time she visits a Wish Kid. Not only is it rewarding to instill hope in kids fighting critical illnesses, but she says it’s equally fulfilling to leave a lasting impact on the Wish families.

“And knowing that whatever they decide, that it’s going to be a respite for them as a family to not think about what they’ve been going through,” she reflected.

In her life, Marlene says she’s lucky to have a partner that shares this feeling with her.

“It really puts things in perspective about what’s important,” said her husband, Francis.

This June, the pair will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Francis says that in the early days of their relationship, when he and Marlene were just getting to know each another, he was technically her chauffeur to some of her Wish Kid meetings.

“I would drive her to the appointment, and sit in the car until she finished, and then drive her back home. And so one day she said, ‘why don’t you just join?’”

Not only did Francis meet the woman who changed his life, but he says he also found, through her, a higher calling that leaves him fulfilled in his purpose.

“When that wish is granted, and we get to go back with the paperwork and the balloons and cupcakes and have that wish party…[there is] nothing like it,” he said.

The couple say they still keep in contact with the kids and families whose lives they have touched over the years. And anyone thinking about helping making a child’s wish come true, Marlene says, “this is a place that will bring you that peace that you’re looking for if you want to make a difference in the world, if you want to make a difference in the lives of other people in a way that you can’t in your day to day job.”

“We’re sitting there, as you know, the giver of all this joy, and I walk out of there changed,” Francis added. You know, make a wish. Will change to volunteer.”