GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo — Long before the Make-A-Wish Colorado offices looked like the type of place a kiddo would feel right at home, it was run out of Joan Mazak's Home.
"It was in my dining room for about a year," said Mazak, founder of the Make-A-Wish Colorado Chapter.
She was inspired to create the chapter after her daughter, Jennifer, passed away from liver disease.
They had seen a story on TV about the small, newly formed Make-A-Wish program out of Arizona.
"It was the very first Make-A-Wish story ever to be published. We sat and watched that, and she said that was pretty cool, which was very close to the last thing she said; she died the next day," said Mazak.
She used the money friends and family had donated to Jennifer's treatment to create the chapter in 1983.
"There was no main chapter. We had no main chapter. We had no paperwork," she remembered. "There was one chapter in Phoenix, and several of those people had broken away and decided we needed to form a bigger organization."
Mazak had seen the joy that granting a child's wish could bring. Her unofficial first wish was for her daughter, who wanted to meet her favorite radio mascot, a chicken.
"Walking around our apartment complex, she was very proud that she was the only one he would hold hands with," said Mazak of the mascot's visit before Jennifer passed away. "It was the feeling that she had from it. That's what you had to pull back out. It was great, because it was all hers."
There's a castle right in the middle of the Make-A-Wish Colorado office, named after Jennifer. Inside the castle is where Wish Granters meet Wish Kids.
"We want to give them a moment of just sheer joy, and that joy then provides hope for them as they walk through their journey of whatever it is they're going through," said Jennifer Getsch, chief mission officer for Make-A-Wish Colorado.
Over the years, the organization's mission changed from granting wishes only to children with terminal illnesses to granting wishes to all kids battling critical illnesses.
"We don't use the wording "terminally ill." A lot of the kids do survive because of all the breakthroughs in medicine," Mazak said.
Over the years, Make-A-Wish Colorado has granted thousands of wishes. Click here to see Denver7's Wish Wednesday segment, highlighting Wish Kids whose wishes have been granted or are currently being worked on.
Wish Wednesday
It was not always easy to convince early supporters of the value of a child's wish.
"It took us a long time to really kind of prove that we were a needed charity. The Cancer Society tries to cure cancer. Everybody had a reason, but our reason was a memory," said Mazak. "I think that was one of the hardest things to convince people of, is that memory, kind of like the chicken [mascot], was going to stay with you the rest of your life."
In 2026, Make-A-Wish Colorado is expected to grant around 300 wishes.
"It's been an interesting journey, and I'm really proud where Make-A-Wish has ended up," said Mazak.
If you'd like to donate your time, money, or services to Make-A-Wish, visit WishMaker.org
