Make-A-Wish fundraiser, returning to Huntington Beach after three years, is back ‘In the Bag’
“In the bag” is a term that expresses confidence, but the coronavirus pandemic certainly changed certainties of a past way of life.
The Women’s Circle of Wishes group of Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire had its annual “It’s In the Bag” event planned in 2020, but it ended up being wiped out two weeks before the event date.
A couple of years later, the event is back and bigger than ever. The fundraising event will be held Sunday at the Waterfront Resort in Huntington Beach, starting at 11:30 a.m. The goal is to raise funds to ultimately grant as many wishes as possible for the chapter.
The “It’s In the Bag” luncheon features a silent and live auction with items like high-end luxury handbags, jewelry and even an e-bike scooter. Women’s Circle of Wishes chair Nichole Story, a Newport Beach real estate agent, said ticket sales have already exceeded the 2019 event, which had 250 attendees and raised about $250,000 for Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire.
“Considering what we’ve all gone through over the last two years, that’s a huge feat,” said Story, who is co-chairing the event with fellow Newport Beach resident Elisa Tarkeshian. “Quite honestly, I was a little stressed out in February and March, but we had just gotten over the omicron surge. I sent out an emergency text to my core group of women … We had to push the ticket sales, and they came through. Hopefully our attendance and funds raised will also exceed 2019.”
The outdoor event, coordinated by Erika Lemus of Make-A-Wish, is one of the major annual fundraisers for Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire. The theme this year is the Kentucky Derby, which affords an opportunity for guests to wear attire traditionally popular at Churchill Downs, including fanciful hats.
“It’s a really fun theme,” said Story, who had the same theme at the last “It’s In The Bag” event in 2019. “We already knew what to do, and we didn’t want to recreate the wheel … I’ve been to a lot of ladies’ events. They’re all great, right, but it was a different feeling in the room [last time] because everyone was so social with each other. Everyone was like, ‘Oh, I love your hat, I love that dress.’ It created a different feeling, a different atmosphere that was super-inclusive and really fun.”
The Women’s Circle of Wishes contains only about 40 members, but its impact is far-reaching. According to a recent study by Make-A-Wish, 91% of wish alumni said that their wish improved their overall quality of life. An even greater percentage, 95%, said that they felt more hopeful for the future after their having their wish granted.
Next Friday, April 29, is World Wish Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the wish for then-7-year-old Chris Greicius that inspired the organization’s founding.
Make-A-Wish changed Brian Nicalek’s life. The owner of sports memorabilia store the OC Dugout in Anaheim, Nicalek, now 36, is a former Wish Kid himself.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 13 and underwent radiation and a pair of brain surgeries.
“I had a dark attitude toward life,” he said. “I figured I was doomed to deal with the negative effects and this condition my whole life; I became very down.”
But three years later, the organization fulfilled Nicalek’s wish. He and his family got to go to the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Milwaukee.
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “It really did change my entire outlook, the way I felt about life. It helped me keep a silver lining, not only then, but into the future now. The way I approach everything is different, and it spurred from that specific summer.”
Nearly 25 years since his diagnosis, Nicalek said the brain tumor is dormant. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis in 2013, but he doesn’t let those conditions slow him down.
In addition to organizing meet-and-greets and autograph signings with professional athletes through his company, Nicalek is now a Wish Ambassador for Make-A-Wish, investing his time in volunteering and sharing his story.
Story, too, believes in the transformative potential of the organization. The “It’s In the Bag” event is more than just a good time.
“I can’t tell you how powerful it is,” she said. “I never stop crying, so there’s no way I could be a wish granter. I’m glad I’m on the fundraising side of it. We’ll do walk-throughs for the day of [the event], and I’ll hear the [children’s] stories during rehearsal, and I’m bawling. Then I’m sitting at the event, having already heard the story, and I’m bawling again. It’s touching and it’s powerful.”
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