Long-held wishes granted to seniors

Margarette Kirsch, 82, always wondered what it would be like to roll across America in an 18-wheeler. With the help of the Twilight Wish Foundation, she found out.

She spent more than two weeks this summer touring the country in a semi's cab.

"I enjoyed every minute of it," the Florida resident said.

Twilight Wish is one of several organizations that grant wishes to seniors. The foundation started eight years ago in Doylestown, Pa., as a way to enrich the lives of seniors, said President Elinor Foltz.

Helping seniors achieve lifelong dreams is a way to thank them for their contributions to society, added Jeremy Bloom, a former NFL player who founded Jeremy Bloom's Wish of a Lifetime in 2008. He created the Denver-based foundation to honor his grandmother, Donna Wheeler. Now 86, she lives in Colorado and continues to inspire him, he said.

Such organizations grant a variety of wishes, from visits to World War II battlefields and hot-air balloon rides to family reunions. They also help seniors with home and health needs, such as wheelchair ramps and hearing aids.

The organizations take donations. Seniors do not have to be sick or dying. Most of the organizations require recipients to apply and demonstrate financial need.

Jim Young, 85, of Memphis, often talked about returning to Europe to visit where he was stationed in WWII.

"I never had enough money to make a trip like that," said Young, a retired auto body repairman. "I just didn't imagine I would ever be able to do anything like that." Then he met Diane Hight, founder of Forever Young Senior Wish Organization, in Collierville, Tenn. Hight takes veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial. She also organizes trips to European battlefields. "You and I are free today because of these men," she said.

Young, who arrived in Normandy after D-Day, said going back in October was exciting and emotional. "It brought back a lot of memories. ... It was just a trip of a lifetime."

The trips often give veterans a sense of closure, Hight said. She focuses on veterans, but grants other types of wishes, and is often surprised by what people request. "When you're dealing with people and their hearts ... you never know what you're going to get."

Libby Magness, 84, of N.J., always dreamed of riding on a parade float. "Anytime there's a parade, she's there," said daughter Ruth Weisberg. Twilight arranged for Magness to appear in the Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia. "It was one of the highlights of my life," said Magness.

Foltz hopes her group can help younger people see their elders in a new light. "Just because you're 83 doesn't mean you don't have dreams and life left to live. Our vision is to change how the world views aging one wish at a time."

Online: www.foreveryoungseniorwish.org; www.twilightwish.org; and www.seniorwish.org.