HELP WISHING WALL UNVEILS THEIR ULTIMATE WISH: TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDREN'S
CHARITIES

Unique Fundraising Initiative Combines Graffiti Art and Social Media

TORONTO, Nov. 8 /CNW/ - Using their artistic talents, topped off with the energy of gratitude, Toronto's own, the Help Wishing Wall crew has joined forces with The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and Canada's Make-A-Wish® to help fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.  On Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. the Help Wishing Wall Crew will debut their mural on the walls of The Green Grind Café on College Street.

The project uses graffiti art to encourage the generation of social media users to donate to such organizations as Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada in a way that feels natural to them. Donations to the Wishing Wall will be jointly split between both charities.

Donning a wall of a popular downtown Toronto coffee shop, the graffiti-styled mural is being painted by Toronto graffiti artist Paul Leli and his team, Samara Shuter, Chief Creative Officer and Rob Sgrignoli, Design Director. The wall depicts an image of a courageous child whose life was made brighter through the magic of a wish come true. Through the art, patrons are encouraged to go online while sipping a latte and donate what they can for a good cause.

"The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and Make-A-Wish Canada are honoured to be a part of such a unique and contemporary project. Paul, Samara and Rob represent a new wave of young, creative and philanthropic individuals that recognize the profound impact the granting of a wish can have on a child with a life threatening illness. Children's Wish is about making wishes come true, realizing that you can accomplish great things with the help of others. We encourage our children to dream big. This young group of artists certainly encapsulates that by initiating this incredibly unique fundraising initiative. Children's Wish and Make-A-Wish are very excited by their energy and generosity of spirit," Sandra Hancox, Children's Wish Chapter Director, Ontario said.

"We're targeting a generation of web surfers and Facebook users who may not otherwise donate to these charities and who are more comfortable in a digital environment than they are with traditional advertising," said Samara Shuter, of the Help Wishing Wall project. "All it takes is a small donation of $1, $2 or $3 to make a difference in the lives of these children Donations can be made by visiting helpwishingwall.com."

With plans to extend the project to locations across Canada, the Help Wishing Wall team aims to build a brand new way to appeal to the electronic generation.

The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada

Each year, thousands of Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.  Since 1984, The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada has worked tirelessly to grant exceptional wishes to over 16,000 children and their families.

This year, the Foundation expects to grant 1,000 new wishes and is proud to have never refused a wish to an eligible child, and with the help of volunteers and generous donors, is able to grant nearly three wishes every day.  Each wish is an individual adventure, carefully structured to meet the needs of a particular child and family. The Foundation is a grassroots charity with chapters in every province and territory.  Visit www.chidrenswish.ca.

Make-A-Wish Canada

Make-A-Wish Canada grants wishes to children (ages 3 - 17) who are living with a life-threatening medical condition to enrich their lives with hope, strength and joy. By doing this, we strive to provide a much-needed respite from being sick, allowing our wish children to experience the wholesome joy of just being a "kid" again. We enter our wish families' lives at a time when they need to know that their community cares about what they are going through, as their child courageously battles for his/her life. We believe that Make-A-Wish, through our mission, volunteers and supporters, is helping to nurture a kind and caring Canada. Visit www.makeawish.ca.

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