About Us

Mission
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central California is a charitable non-profit organization whose purpose is to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

National History
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® was inspired in 1980 by the love that family and friends had for a seven-year-old boy named Chris, who had leukemia. Chris dreamed of becoming a police officer for a day, and his family and friends in the state highway patrol made his wish come true - complete with his own helmet, goggles, badge and a regulation uniform tailored especially for him. Chris' mother and those who helped to grant his wish created Make-A-Wish Foundation® in his memory, enabling his legacy to live on. Make-A-Wish Foundation® is the largest wish granting organization in the world. There are 67 Make-A-Wish Foundation® chapters nationwide.

Chapter History
The Central California Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® was founded in 1986. Since that time, the Chapter has granted more than 1050 wishes. While the Foundation follows the policies and guidelines of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America, it operates as a separate 501 (c) (3) organization. All funds raised by the Foundation are used to fulfill our mission in the eight counties we serve.

Counties Served The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central California serves 8 counties: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare.

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Board of Directors
A volunteer Board of Directors governs the Foundation. Board meetings are held every month, and, in addition, there are ad-hoc task teams and Board Committees organized around specific areas of the Foundation operations.

President
Scott Negri
Commercial Retail Associates, Inc.

Vice President
Paul Santy
Placer Title Company

Secretary
Marshall Whitney
McCormick Barstow, LLC

Treasurer
Bart Carlson
Certified Public Accountant

Wish Granting
Nathan Moore
Prudential Financial Planning Services

Medical Advisor
Robert H. Kezirian, MD, FAAP
Children’s Hospital Central California

Rick Allen
Private Consultant, The Beverage Alcohol Industry

Jeff Bailey
Indocruit & Associates

Katie Biehl

David Brager
Citizens Business Bank

Monique Garcia

Bruce Kane
Michael's Autopmotive

Brady McGuinness
Betts & Wright, LLC

Jamee Moltini
James Ashjian Lighting & Home

Bill Pfeif
Guarantee Real Estate

Andy Solomon
Commercial Retail Associates, Inc.

Jeff Tolladay
Tolladay Construction, Inc.

Lisa White
Trinity Fruit Sales

Mike Stier

Funding
Proceeds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® fundraising efforts are used to fulfill children's dreams and create special memories for the entire family. The average cash cost of one wish is approximately $5,000. The Foundation relies on in-kind gifts and services, financial contributions from individuals, corporations, clubs and other groups, special events, and vehicle donations. Our Foundation has received enormous community support through special projects, service clubs, fund-raisers and private contributions.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central California thanks all of our individual and corporate donors, our event sponsors and our in-kind contributors. Each of these donations, whether large or small, contributes to making children's dreams come true.