I am a 10-year-old 5th grader growing up in Laguna Niguel. Every year on Mother’s Day, my dad and I take my mom to Sunday brunch and present her with thoughtful gifts, flowers, and cards. But on this Mother’s Day, I did something very special with my friends from OC Wishworks.
OC Wishworks is a charity group of kids working together to help make wishes come true for people in need through music. We had our first beneficial concert on Mother’s Day and raised over $1,000 for AmeriCares. AmeriCares is a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization which provides emergency medical and nutritional aid for people around the world.
About 3-4 months ago, Ethan’s mom asked me if I wanted to play my piano and violin for a children’s charity concert. I said yes without knowing what was involved. Then came the first meeting with our group members. We had to do individual research and present to our group which charity we want to sponsor, and we all voted. We all took different roles in our group. I was assigned as a Public Relations person, which is my weakest strength. The easy part for me was playing piano and violin because I started playing musical instruments since I was four. The difficult part was to sell our concert tickets and ask help from local businesses. We all took the challenge and did our best.
OC Wishworks has opened my eyes to the global level and made me think about other people in need. I had learned organization and leadership skills in the past 4 months. There are still so many things to learn! We are already planning on our next concert. It will be in December 2010.
OC Wishworks consists 11 members from Fullerton, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, and Irvine areas. Maile Fukudome (5), Aaron Tran (6), Maia Fukudome (9), Shelby Wong (10), Ashley Tran (10), Emily Ishibashi (10), Fiona O’Hanlon (10), Ethan Yoshioka (10), Tracy Lang (11), Alexa Ishibashi (12), and Matthew Fukudome (12).
Story by Shelby Wong
10-year-old, fifth grader
George White Elementary School
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
www.ocwishworks.org
