Wishes in Wonderland
17th Annual Glass Slipper Ball
published June 2016
Trent and Veronica Bishop
Veronica is currently serving as
president of the board of
Make-A-Wish RGV
Laylah Hernandez
Cinderella 2016
Down Down The Rabbit Hole We Went ...
This year's keynote address was given by Veronica Bishop. Here is some of what she had to say ...
"When Trent and I first attended a Wish Makers reception three years ago, we did not know what to expect. In fact, if I am honest, I thought it might be uncomfortable to visit with the children and their families. What if I said the wrong thing? What do I say at all? I had no experience with this sort of thing.
"What I have learned since then is that these amazing young human beings do not want or need my pity. In fact, they have proven time and again to be stronger than most people I know, able bodied or not. I am amazed by their strength, talent and their positive attitudes to persevere through their challenges.
"What does it feel like to have a life-threatening medical condition? Most people do not know the answer to that question. And when I stood in this room three years ago for my first Gala, I did not know, nor did I ever want to know EXACTLY what that felt like. But all of that changed on November 5, 2015. You see, although I know most of you thought I was doing my best impression of Sinead O'Connor, the fact is that I am battling breast cancer myself. And although tonight is not about me and my battle, I can tell you as someone who was at the peak of health prior to my diagnosis, battling a life threatening medical condition is tough. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It sucks. It's not fair. I hate it. But I am an adult. I have the privilege of having lived many years healthy.
"My adult brain can process medicine and shots and chemo and hair loss and aches and pains and surgery and all kinds of tests and scans. Can you imagine a child undergoing all of this without the ability or means to process exactly what they are going through and why? As the mother of healthy children, I cannot imagine my child going through the process that I am going through right now. But it is happening. It is happening every day to children right here in the Rio Grande Valley.
"So when we talk about granting wishes, we are talking about providing some sort of escape from this reality that they have grown to know as their "normal" life. We are talking about providing these wonderful children with a dream, a hope, a reason to wake up and keep fighting their individual battles. We are talking about moving their dotted line in an upward direction. And none of this can happen without the generosity of you, our local businesses and community."
This year's keynote address was given by Veronica Bishop. Here is some of what she had to say ...
"When Trent and I first attended a Wish Makers reception three years ago, we did not know what to expect. In fact, if I am honest, I thought it might be uncomfortable to visit with the children and their families. What if I said the wrong thing? What do I say at all? I had no experience with this sort of thing.
"What I have learned since then is that these amazing young human beings do not want or need my pity. In fact, they have proven time and again to be stronger than most people I know, able bodied or not. I am amazed by their strength, talent and their positive attitudes to persevere through their challenges.
"What does it feel like to have a life-threatening medical condition? Most people do not know the answer to that question. And when I stood in this room three years ago for my first Gala, I did not know, nor did I ever want to know EXACTLY what that felt like. But all of that changed on November 5, 2015. You see, although I know most of you thought I was doing my best impression of Sinead O'Connor, the fact is that I am battling breast cancer myself. And although tonight is not about me and my battle, I can tell you as someone who was at the peak of health prior to my diagnosis, battling a life threatening medical condition is tough. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It sucks. It's not fair. I hate it. But I am an adult. I have the privilege of having lived many years healthy.
"My adult brain can process medicine and shots and chemo and hair loss and aches and pains and surgery and all kinds of tests and scans. Can you imagine a child undergoing all of this without the ability or means to process exactly what they are going through and why? As the mother of healthy children, I cannot imagine my child going through the process that I am going through right now. But it is happening. It is happening every day to children right here in the Rio Grande Valley.
"So when we talk about granting wishes, we are talking about providing some sort of escape from this reality that they have grown to know as their "normal" life. We are talking about providing these wonderful children with a dream, a hope, a reason to wake up and keep fighting their individual battles. We are talking about moving their dotted line in an upward direction. And none of this can happen without the generosity of you, our local businesses and community."
"We grant the wishes of
children with
life-threatening medical
conditions to enrich the
human experience with
hope, strength and joy."
Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children between the ages of 2 ½ to 18 years who have life-threatening medical conditions. Last year, ninety-three cents out of every dollar donated to Make-A-Wish RGV went directly to fulfilling wishes. We continuously strive to keep all other costs at a minimum. All donations stay in the Valley to help grant wishes for our area children.
The board of directors is extremely grateful to these sponsors who helped to make this years Glass Slipper Ball A Huge Success!
Royal Court $10,000+
Burns Motors. Corporate Solutions, Crawford Electric Supply, Inter National Bank
Royal Coach $7,500+
Trusted Choice, Valley Grande Institute
Glass Slipper $5,000+
Fox Packaging, Manrique Custom Vision Center, MO-VAC Service Company, Pratt Industries, E-Con Group, Lone Star National Bank
Fairy Godmother $3,000+
Kolder, Terry Posluszny, MD, FACC, Atlas, Hall & Rodriguez, Shepard Walton King Ins. Group, Texas National Bank, Javier O. De La Garza DDS PA, KRGV-TV, Core Business Solutions
Cinderella $1,500+
B2Z, Broaddus and Associates, Bruce & Lori Goldman, Dargel Boats, Eberle Materials, Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance, Paul and Joline Huddleston, Randy & Michelle Crane, David & Susie Oliveira, Gonzalez & Associates, Khit Chiropractic & Wellness Center, Higginbotham, Raul "Rudy" Rodriguez, Filiberto Rodriquez SR. MD, IBC Bank, Simply Divine Events of Texas, BBVA Compass, Palmer Steele
THANK YOU ALL for MAKING WISHES COME TRUE!
Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children between the ages of 2 ½ to 18 years who have life-threatening medical conditions. Last year, ninety-three cents out of every dollar donated to Make-A-Wish RGV went directly to fulfilling wishes. We continuously strive to keep all other costs at a minimum. All donations stay in the Valley to help grant wishes for our area children.
The board of directors is extremely grateful to these sponsors who helped to make this years Glass Slipper Ball A Huge Success!
Royal Court $10,000+
Burns Motors. Corporate Solutions, Crawford Electric Supply, Inter National Bank
Royal Coach $7,500+
Trusted Choice, Valley Grande Institute
Glass Slipper $5,000+
Fox Packaging, Manrique Custom Vision Center, MO-VAC Service Company, Pratt Industries, E-Con Group, Lone Star National Bank
Fairy Godmother $3,000+
Kolder, Terry Posluszny, MD, FACC, Atlas, Hall & Rodriguez, Shepard Walton King Ins. Group, Texas National Bank, Javier O. De La Garza DDS PA, KRGV-TV, Core Business Solutions
Cinderella $1,500+
B2Z, Broaddus and Associates, Bruce & Lori Goldman, Dargel Boats, Eberle Materials, Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance, Paul and Joline Huddleston, Randy & Michelle Crane, David & Susie Oliveira, Gonzalez & Associates, Khit Chiropractic & Wellness Center, Higginbotham, Raul "Rudy" Rodriguez, Filiberto Rodriquez SR. MD, IBC Bank, Simply Divine Events of Texas, BBVA Compass, Palmer Steele
THANK YOU ALL for MAKING WISHES COME TRUE!