There’s a lot to love about the holiday season, but not much gets us more amped than Giving Tuesday, a global initiative launched in 2012 to promote generosity + encourage folks to do good. Arguably the biggest giving day of the year across the globe, it takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is an opportunity for people to make donations to their favorite charities, non-profits, and philanthropic organizations.

Wish granted from Carolina Sunshine for Children | Photo provided

Last month, we invited you to help bring awareness to the local orgs that help keep our communities connected + running and we told y’all we’d choose one lucky organization at random to receive a $1,000 donation from 6AM City and a special shout-out in the newsletter.

We received so many thoughtful nominations and today we’re delighted to highlight the winning organization, Carolina Sunshine for Children. To ensure everyone knows who they are, what they do and why their work is so important to the folks in Columbia, we’re sharing a brief Q + A sesh with them. Read on and enjoy some good old-fashioned educational warm fuzzies (’tis the season, after all).

1. What is the purpose of your organization?

Carolina Sunshine for Children is a Midlands-based organization that grants wishes to children in South Carolina with serious or life-threatening illnesses. When a wish comes true, a child's beaming smile can be a positive, lasting memory for families going through difficult times. Since the start in 1983, we have granted almost 1,000 wishes.

2. How do you go about making that happen?

Wish applications can be submitted online or by mail by a child's parent or medical provider. The wish application is available on our website. Once approved, each wish child is assigned a Carolina Sunshine for Children volunteer who helps to grant his or her wish. There is a pretty quick turn-around time for wishes. We have even granted emergent wishes within the week.

3. How has the pandemic affected your work?

Unfortunately, serious childhood illnesses never take a holiday. We are still receiving wish requests quite regularly, even during this pandemic. Some wishes, such as Disney trips, are having to be put on hold at this time until it is safe for these high-risk children and their families to travel. We are still very fortunate to be able to grant wishes that do not involve travel at this time. Shopping sprees are a very popular example.

4. What have you done this year that you’re most proud of?

Earlier this year, we received a generous donation that has allowed us to begin an expansion process to reach children in other parts of South Carolina. This is such an exciting step for us. We are currently based out of Columbia, but we are looking to expand our organization to have a presence in other cities as well, such as Charleston (est. 2021) + Greenville/Spartanburg (est. 2022).

5. Can you briefly share a story of how your work has helped one of your clients?

In June 2019, Carolina Sunshine for Children received a fairly unique request for a wish. A terminally ill 17-year-old, young man wanted to meet his middle/high school role model, Xavier Thomas (a defensive end football player for Clemson University). The two had attended the same school but were separated by a few years and this young man never actually met Xavier. He loved football and even played some before getting diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia.

Our organization was able to make contact with someone in the athletic department at Clemson who graciously asked Xavier if he would be willing to come meet this young man. Without hesitation, Xavier hopped in the car and made the drive from Clemson to Prisma Health Richland Children’s Hospital, where the wish child was a patient. Our team worked with the wish child's care team to ensure that we kept Xavier’s visit a surprise. The two hit it off immediately + played video games and talked football for hours. Xavier gave him an autographed football as well as his contact information. It is our understanding that the two remained in contact following Xavier’s visit.

Meeting Xavier Thomas from Clemson University at Prisma Health Richland Children’s Hospital | Photo provided

6. What is the greatest challenge to your organization and its work?

The greatest gift and challenge to our organization is that we are only able to grant these wishes through the generosity of people in our community. 100% of every wish donation goes directly to granting wishes. We generally have multiple fundraisers throughout the year; however, the pandemic has put a hold on those events for now. That said, please think of us on Giving Tuesday today.

7. What is one thing you wish people knew or understood about the work you do?

Although we have a similar goal, Carolina Sunshine for Children is not affiliated with any national wish-granting organizations. We are 100% local, 100% volunteer-run + 100% of every wish donation we receive goes to fulfilling a child's wish.

Find out more about this local organization here.