Livermore Woman Hosts Make-A-Wish Fundraiser To Honor Son
LIVERMORE, CA — When Veronica Johnson’s son Dylan was two years old, he got to fulfill a major life dream: he got to spend three days at Disneyland and one day at Knott’s Berry Farm. He got to meet his heroes Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.
He died 10 days later, just after an open-heart surgery for a congenital heart defect.
Veronica went to the cemetery every day. One day, about a month later, she knelt by his grave and asked how she could carry on. “This breeze came across the cemetery, and my body…I can’t even explain the feeling,” she said. “He told me to go grant wishes.”
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She walked away, tears streaming down her face, and immediately began volunteering for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the same organization that had arranged Dylan’s trip to Disneyland. In October 2000, Johnson organized the first fundraising bowl-a-thon in Fremont. It raised $3000. Her next bowl-a-thon raised $4500. She kept going, and over the years, she has raised a total of $394,000 for Make-A-Wish.
That money has paid to treat kids with chronic diseases to everything from iPads to shopping sprees to international vacations. “It gives them hope. It makes them not think about doctors. It brings excitement and joy,” she said.
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In 2019, Johnson moved from Fremont to Livermore, and hoped to host a wine tasting fundraiser to honor the 20th anniversary of Dylan’s passing. The pandemic got in the way, but she’s back at it. Tickets are now available for the Wine and Wishes fundraiser at Longevity Winery in Livermore on Oct. 5 from 6-9, which will feature wine, beer, food, dancing, and silent and live auctions. The average cost of a wish is $10,000, so Johnson is hoping to raise as much as possible.
See here to purchase $80 tickets, which buys drinks and appetizers.
“I can’t bring him back, but I sure can do good and help another family go through an amazing experience the way we did,” Johnson said.
For more information about Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org.
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