CHARLOTTE — Looking to help make wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, Father Christopher Roux, rector of St. Patrick Cathedral, will hike 28.3 miles for the annual Make-A-Wish Spring Trailblaze Challenge the weekend of May 18-20.
The Trailblaze Challenge is an endurance hike where participants tackle the terrain of the Foothills Trail – in one day. This is a hike, not a race, and it caters to all levels of hiking ability, from novices to advanced outdoor enthusiasts.
This is the sixth time in four years that Father Roux and small groups of cathedral parishioners, which he calls “Pat’s Peeps,” have participated to raise funds to help grant the wishes of children who have life-threatening medical conditions.
First-time hikers have a minimum goal of raising at least $2,500. In subsequent years, hikers strive to raise at least $2,400. This year Father Roux will be joined by parishioner Jason Murphy, so they have a combined minimum goal of $4,800.
Since on average each wish can cost approximately $6,000, Father Roux is really striving to raise enough to fund one wish and two if possible, so his goal is between $6,000 and $12,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“It is a wonderful thing,” Father Roux said. “When we have our Make-A-Wish weekend, previous Wish families come down and tell their stories. In the midst of all of the difficulty they have – with their kids with doctor’s visits, treatments and day-to-day life responsibilities – this gives them a period of time when they have some good memories.”
“The family doesn’t have to worry about anything,” he said. “Make-A-Wish does everything they can to make this a pleasant experience where the family can just enjoy being a family with their child.
“As time goes on, if the child continues to be sick or, sadly, passes away, they have that memory to hold onto – a memory that was happy.”
Wishes range from a visit to Walt Disney World, to swimming with dolphins, from being a soldier at Fort Bragg for a day, to being a Carolina Panther for a day.
Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina hopes to grant more than 360 wishes for children in need this year.
For more information about aiding in the effort, go to www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1167406 and select Spring 2018 Hikes. Once on the webpage, select hiker name “Christopher Roux.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter