DENVER — Make-A-Wish volunteer Dawn Springer has spent decades helping Colorado kids’ wishes come true — nearly 300 and counting at Make-A-Wish Colorado’s annual “Wish Store,” a holiday event that allows children with critical illnesses to pick free gifts for their families.
“This is our annual wish store for our wish kids, which is one of our very biggest events that we have,” Springer said.
At the Wish Store, children make a list of everyone they want to shop for, parents, siblings, grandparents and even pets. They then head into a room packed with presents alongside a volunteer “shopper” who helps them choose and wrap gifts.
“They walk around inside of the big room that is full of presents, tons of presents,” Springer said. “They actually get to pick what they want to give to their parents or their siblings or their grandparents or their dog.”
Springer has been part of the Wish Store for as long as the organization has held it, she said, and it’s one of many roles she’s filled during more than 25 years volunteering with Make-A-Wish Colorado.
“There’s no way that we could do what we do without the support of our volunteers,” Jennifer Getsch, the organization’s chief mission officer, said. “They are the magic makers of what we do.”
Getsch said the Wish Store is one of the most meaningful days of the year for families and staff alike.
“This event really is the most special event of our entire year,” Getsch said. “We get to interact with our wish families and enjoy the kickoff to this amazing holiday season.”
For Springer, volunteering began after she taught school and experienced a loss that changed her.
“I taught school, and one of my students died of cancer, and I was so heartbroken over it that I thought there’s got to be something out there that would be just so uplifting for the family and so uplifting for the children,” Springer said.
That search led her to Make-A-Wish, and eventually to hundreds of families.
Springer said she started volunteering in 1998. When asked during the Wish Store how many wishes she has helped grant, she estimated she is nearing 300.
Getsch said Springer’s longevity is matched by her ability to connect with children, especially in moments when families may be anxious or unsure what to expect.
“Dawn is one of the most genuine, compassionate, selfless people I know,” Getsch said. “She loves every wish kid like it’s her one and only wish kid that she’s ever worked with.”
At the Wish Store, Springer was also able to reconnect with children whose wishes she helped come true, including 11-year-old Sebastian.
Springer said the event often turns into a reunion.
“If I have had wish kids and then the wish store is coming up, I know some of my kids are going to be here, so I get to see them again,” she said.
During the event, Denver7 and Levine Law surprised Springer with this week’s Everyday Hero award.
Springer said the recognition, and the work itself, has become inseparable from who she is.
“It just warms my heart,” she said. “There’s just nothing like it, and I will do this forever until I cannot do it anymore.”
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