Bailey is a 9-year-old from Masonville, Colo. She likes chili cheese Fritos, spaghetti and chips. She rides her bike, jumps on the trampoline and watches TV like other children.
However, Bailey will eventually not be able to see as the rest of her peers.
Bailey has Wagner’s disease, a disease of the connective tissue of the eyes that may cause blindness. She has a wish through the Make a Wish Foundation to see Disney World before she becomes blind.
The Greek community will be holding “Bailey’s Wish,” a benefit dinner to grant her wish, this Friday in Driscoll Ballroom. Cocktails will begin at 6 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:45 p.m. The dinner is $22 per person and open to the DU community. Dessert will be accompanied by a brief presentation. Bailey will also speak to those in attendance.
A raffle drawing will follow the program. Raffle tickets can be bought for $2 a ticket or $3 for two. Prizes for the raffle are donated by local businesses, including Stick-e-Rice, 730 South, and Starbucks. Attire is business casual.
Jenna Jackson, president of Panhellenic, received a Make a Wish Foundation mailer which sparked the idea to sponsor a wish. With further research and planning, Bailey was chosen from the list of wish kids because she was from Colorado and close to Denver.
The Greek councils decided to enact this philanthropic event to give something back to the community.
It was important to make a positive impression among the negative images of other Colorado Greek communities, they decided.
In the past, DU’s Greek community has not put together a philanthropy event as a whole or for the entire community. In communion with the four pillars of Greek life– scholarship, leadership, service and friendship — both Panhellenic and the Interfraternal Council intend to illustrate the direct difference a community can make in another’s life, according to Jackson.
Amber Fouts, a sophomore at DU, is Bailey’s older cousin and said she has been touched by the execution of this idea. Amber wrote, “…how amazing you all are for doing this for my little cousin. If you could see how excited she is for this trip you would understand. She’s had a very tough few years, and no one deserves this more than her. I have never been prouder to say that I am a student at the University of Denver.”
It is this feeling of pride in our school and Greek communities that Panhellenic wants to instill in people, said Jackson.
“I hope to pass on an inspirational idea…if we do something we can make a difference,” said Jackson.
Bailey’s wish will cost an estimated $4,500 to send her entire family to Disney World. Tickets are available on the Driscoll Bridge or at the information desk. They will be on sale this week and on the evening of the event.
