Donations at area Panera restaurants help fund Disney trip for 7-year-old with cancer

‘Round Up At The Register’ program raises more than $6,700 for foundation.

A Special Wish Foundation has granted its 1,800th wish to Beckett, a 7-year-old from Southwest Ohio who is battling cancer.

David Seyer, executive director of A Special Wish Foundation of Dayton and Southwest Ohio, said the foundation is honored and touched to be a positive part of Beckett’s treatment.

The organization granted Beckett’s wish to go to Walt Disney World on Tuesday at Panera Bread in Washington Twp., Montogmery County.

Becket and his family live in West Carrollton.

“When we do these wish deliveries we want them to be as exciting and fun as possible just so they realize the community came together and everyone does care,” Seyer said.

He explained the wish was made possible by their friends at Panera who sponsored the wish.

Katey Childers, the regional marketing director for Covelli Enterprises, a franchisee of Panera Bread, LLC, said they were able to raise $6,798 for the foundation through their “Round Up at the Register” program during the months of January and February.

The program was in all of the franchisee’s Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton Panera Bread Bakery Cafes.

“We are so excited to be a small part of Beckett’s journey by helping to send him to Disney World,” Childers said. “We love to give back to the communities we serve, and the fact that this is going to a specific special little boy and his family, we could not be happier!

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

Childers said they chose A Special Wish Foundation as their beneficiary for those months because “we wholeheartedly believe in their mission and we also want to ensure that anything we give back stays in the local community.”

This wish is the foundation’s 1,800th wish granted since it was established in 1983.

“We are the only wish granting organization that’s located in the Dayton region and Southwest Ohio,” Seyer said.

He explained that when a child is diagnosed by their specialist they are referred to A Special Wish Foundation. The foundation then sends paperwork to the child’s doctor to certify whether or not the diagnosis is life threatening. After that, the child is asked to give their top three wishes and those are voted on by the foundation’s board of directors.

Seyer said the wishes granted help families in the area reconnect as they go through challenging treatments.

“These families have gone through so much,” Seyer said. “This is where the family really feels the love of the community.”

Beckett’s wish to go to Walt Disney World will include three days at Disney, two days at Universal Studios and one day to do whatever activity he would like, Seyer said. The wish does not come with a required time frame.

About the Author