How Make-A-Wish® North Dakota turns dreams into reality

Community News

Mandan, North Dakota, foundation
A group of women and girls posing for a photo with a sign that says ‘Amelia your wish to go to Hawaii is coming true.
Make-A-Wish North Dakota volunteers, including MPC employee Ivy Pokorny (holding the banner on the right), celebrate with 12-year-old Amelia (to the left of the banner) during a reveal event where she learned her wish to visit Hawaii would be granted.

Key Points

  • Make-A-Wish North Dakota aims to fulfill the wishes of more critically ill children after its recent fundraising gala raised $95,000.
  • These funds are expected to support 13 additional wishes, bringing the total the organization aims to deliver in fiscal year 2025 to nearly 60.
  • Marathon Petroleum Corporation is providing support through grants and employee volunteers who are inspired to serve by the powerful moments they’ve experienced.

Cody Johnson encourages others interested in giving time to charitable organizations to find one “that supports a mission you genuinely believe in.” For Johnson, a Senior Security Specialist with Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) midstream segment, MPLX, the motivation to support the Make-A-Wish® Foundation goes back more than 30 years.

“My sister Casey had leukemia as a child and was granted her wish to go to Disney World in 1992,” said Johnson, who now serves on the board of directors of Make-A-Wish North Dakota. “Knowing the profound and lasting impact that Make-A-Wish has had on our family, it is an honor to be able to give back.”

A man standing at a podium during a public event.
Make-A-Wish North Dakota board member and MPLX employee Cody Johnson speaks at the organization’s annual gala earlier this year. 

Make-A-Wish North Dakota’s recent World of Wishes gala raised $95,000 to help fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses across the state. This money is expected to fund 13 wishes, pushing the total number that the organization aims to deliver in fiscal year 2025 to nearly 60.

Along with helping to sponsor the gala, MPC individually supplied the funding for one of this year’s wishes. A $7,500 grant will make it possible for Amelia, a 12-year-old girl with congenital heart disease, to spend several days in Hawaii. In fiscal year 2024, another MPC grant provided a dream equipment setup for YouTube content creation to 14-year-old Zahra who has a neuromuscular disorder.

"Knowing the profound and lasting impact that Make-A-Wish has had on our family, it is an honor to be able to give back.”

Wish children and their families are the focus of Ivy Pokorny’s volunteer efforts with Make-A-Wish North Dakota. Pokorny, a Senior Time and Scheduling Coordinator at MPC’s Mandan refinery, is a wish granter, meaning she meets with the families to brainstorm wish ideas and then works to help make each wish a reality.

Groups of people sitting at tables at a public event.
Attendees during Make-A-Wish North Dakota’s 2025 World of Wishes gala, which raised $95,000 to help fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses across the state.

“Before I became a volunteer, I saw classmates of my kids have wishes granted. I knew I wanted to be a part of making that joy come true,” Pokorny said. “Nothing compares to the look of excitement when my first wish child saw his wish.”

Johnson echoed this sentiment, suggesting that delivering wish experiences has left impressions on him that are not likely to fade away.

“I was traveling for MPLX and chatted with a wish family from North Dakota who happened to be on the same flight,” said Johnson. “As we were deboarding, the wish child asked if he could take a picture with me. It was in that moment I realized that, in his eyes, I wasn’t just Cody – I was the one who had made his wish come true.”

A young girl holding a microphone as she speaks to an audience.
Zahra, whose wish was funded in 2024 through a grant from MPC, speaks about her experience at Make-A-Wish North Dakota’s 2025 World of Wishes gala.