Make-A-Wish® Utah gets its own wish granted

Community News

Salt Lake City, Utah, Foundation
 Four-year-old Isla and her parents chat with Make-A-Wish Utah staff member Cameron Chatwin (kneeling) on the day of her wish-granting celebration, which coincided with the restoration project in the Secret Wishing Garden.

Key Points

  • Make-A-Wish® Utah is giving more critically ill children a place of escape after the restoration of its Secret Wishing Garden.
  • In a single day, employee volunteers from Marathon Petroleum’s Salt Lake City refinery completed the project, which included rebuilding footbridges.
  • The nonprofit credits this assistance with helping it devote additional resources to meeting more than 200 wish requests that are pending.

The Secret Wishing Garden at Make-A-Wish® Utah offers critically ill children relief from their daily realities in an environment with a stream and pond surrounded by plants and trees. After 22 years and thousands of annual visitors, the nonprofit recently sought help with refurbishing the garden to serve more children.

In a single day, employee volunteers from Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) Salt Lake City refinery restored the space. They rebuilt two footbridges; re-installed three benches and a directional sign that had all been removed to be repainted; reconfigured drainage features to help prevent water damage on the property; and pressure-washed all concrete pathways. 

Among the MPC employee volunteers for the Secret Wishing Garden project were (L to R) Travis Bettencourt, Wes Waida, Aden Wright, Annastasia Rasmussen, Kevin England, Libby Haeffelin, Scot Tumulty, Mathew Brown, Tyler Cannon and Durand Beck.

“Because granting wishes is our number one priority, funding for maintenance projects is not readily available,” said Make-A-Wish Utah Chief Development Officer Summer Ehrmann. “Marathon’s contribution will help us achieve our vision to grant the wish of every medically eligible Utah child – at the time they need it most.”

MPC Maintenance Supervisor Scot Tumulty led the effort by working with Excel Scaffold, a refinery contractor that painted the benches and sign, and coordinating project planning with MPC Maintenance Foremen Frank Anderson, Durand Beck and Travis Bettencourt.

MPC employee volunteer Durand Beck (far left) uses a pressure washer to clean a concrete pathway while fellow volunteers Kevin England, Scot Tumulty and Aden Wright work on a footbridge. 

“Their investment of time and talent in our tranquil Secret Wishing Garden brought it back to the vision of the original wish kid designers—a place to escape from despair and pain.”

“The 15 employees who volunteered had a variety of skill sets,” Tumulty said. “The day before the event, our building trades group removed the old bridges and pre-built frames for the new ones to expedite the rebuilding process.”

The project added to the refinery’s ongoing support of Make-A-Wish Utah. Among other initiatives in recent years, the refinery has helped finance and coordinate the granting of wishes to several young people.

“Marathon Petroleum and its hard-working, generous team members continue to make a big impact,” said Make-A-Wish Utah President & CEO Daniel Dudley. “Their latest investment of time and talent in our tranquil Secret Wishing Garden brought it back to the vision of the original wish kid designers—a place to escape from despair and pain.”

MPC employee volunteers (L to R) Dean Adam, Durand Beck, Libby Haeffelin and Mathew Brown work to assemble one of the two footbridges the team replaced during the project.

After the garden project, MPC employee volunteers attended a celebration for the granting of a wish to four-year-old Isla, who has a respiratory disorder that compromises her immune system. She spends a lot of time playing alone and wished for her own playhouse.

“Every dollar we might have to spend on maintenance is a dollar we would rather spend on a wish like this one,” Ehrmann said. “With 246 wishes waiting today, assistance from partners like Marathon Petroleum is needed now more than ever.”