POLAND Area family takes steps, raises Make-A-Wish funds

The Hawkins family raised $15,000, enough to grant three wishes.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
POLAND -- The original goal of Rachel Hawkins and her family was to raise $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation so another family could have the kind of gift they received when Rachel faced a life-threatening liver disease and Make-A-Wish sent them to Hawaii for a week.
Instead, they far exceeded their expectations and raised $15,000, which will enable Make-A-Wish to grant three wishes, which average about $5,000 each.
The children have already been picked by Make-A-Wish, Lynda, Rachel's mother, said.
"We are extremely grateful to the people of Poland and the area who helped us. There are a lot of good, caring people with huge hearts," she said.
The Hawkins family -- Lynda and Kevin, Rachel's parents; and Rachel's sisters and brother, Erin, 17; Megan, 12; and Jacob, 6 -- were among 23 people on their team who participated in the Make-A-Wish fund-raiser walk July 12 at the Cleveland Zoo.
Received liver transplant
On Dec. 20, 2002, about nine months after their Make-A-Wish trip to the Island of Oahu, Rachel, suffering with Budd-Chiari, a rare liver disease, received a life-saving liver transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Rachel, 14, a freshman at Poland High School this fall, just returned from Camp Chihopi in West Virginia, a camp for transplant recipients, and is doing fine, her mother said.
For those who might still want to add to the Hawkins' total, checks made out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation (on behalf of the Hawkins) can be sent to Kevin and Lynda Hawkins, 6718 Sturbridge Place, Poland 44514, or to Make-A-Wish Foundation Northeast Ohio, 1422 Euclid Ave., Suite 239, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.
"Maybe we can grant a fourth wish," Lynda said.
alcorn@vindy.com