{"id":1166,"date":"2017-10-27T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2017-10-23T17:03:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T21:03:14","slug":"deborah-bender-marilyn-sanson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1166","title":{"rendered":"Deborah Bender & Marilyn Sanson"},"content":{"rendered":"

25 Years of Wishes<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Make-A-Wish of Central New York has granted more than 1,500 wishes since its inception in 1985. It\u2019s also nurtured a long-lasting friendship between longtime Make-A-Wish wishgranting volunteers, Marilyn Sanson and Deborah “Debbie” Bender.<\/p>\n

Marilyn and Debbie\u2019s sons started kindergarten together in 1974, and continued school together into their first two years at Le Moyne College. It was then they decided to go on a cross-country bicycle trip after finishing undergrad. Debbie\u2019s son completed his studies at SUNY Oswego, while Marilyn\u2019s stayed at Le Moyne. Then, they packed up their bikes, and used their graduation gifts \u2014 two one-way tickets to Seattle \u2014 to begin their adventure on the west coast. They wanted to report back to a radio station in the Syracuse area to share their travels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what\u2019s your cause?\u201d they were asked.<\/p>\n

When Debbie\u2019s son was at Oswego, he\u2019d met a child who\u2019d been granted a wish through Make-A-Wish. So, they picked that organization. Debbie and Marilyn started a letter-writing campaign back home, and by the time their sons returned, they had raised approximately $3,400 \u2014 just about the cost of a wish at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould we do a wish?\u201d they asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we did not know that 25 years later, we\u2019d still be doing those wishes,\u201d Marilyn said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

In the quarter-century since, Marilyn and Debbie have granted more than 75 wishes together in Make-A-Wish\u2019s 15-county territory.<\/p>\n

When they began, Make-A-Wish was a much smaller organization, and their wish granting was very hands-on, from planning the wish to orchestrating the travel itinerary.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s more that we try to enhance the wish \u2014 to make it exciting, to make it personal,\u201d Debbie said.<\/p>\n

For example, if it\u2019s a travel wish, rather than planning the plane ride, they might bring the child a calendar to count down the days until the trip, or a backpack for their adventure.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to Marilyn and Debbie that they make the child\u2019s whole family part of the wish. Sometimes, it can be as simple as stopping by to make cookies with the siblings left at home while the child\u2019s wish is granted.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Make-A-Wish has given the duo many unique opportunities \u2014 from building furniture to learning about the local Amish culture to dressing up in dinosaur costumes \u2014 and one thing that\u2019s stood out above all else is the strength of the children, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children \u2014 their maturity is above and beyond, because of what they\u2019ve gone through,\u201d Debbie said.<\/p>\n

You might think wish granting could get to be emotionally difficult at times, but Marilyn and Debbie agreed that\u2019s never been the case. In the eyes of the children, they\u2019re \u201cthe good people,\u201d Marilyn explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the fairy godmothers. So, they don\u2019t see us with a needle. They don\u2019t see us with medicine. They don\u2019t see us bring any harm,\u201d Debbie added. \u201cAnd all of the sudden, they realize that we\u2019re bringing happiness. We\u2019re bringing something different to their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 25 years of wish-granting experience behind them, the MakeA-Wish fairy godmothers aren\u2019t ready to stop yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou finish a wish, and see the excitement of the child and the family involved,\u201d Debbie said. \u201cYou just want to go on to another wish.\u201d SWM<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For more information about Make-A-Wish Central New York, visit cny.wish.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25 Years of Wishes By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm Make-A-Wish of Central New York has granted more than 1,500 wishes since its inception in 1985. It\u2019s also nurtured a long-lasting friendship between longtime Make-A-Wish wishgranting volunteers, Marilyn Sanson and Deborah “Debbie” Bender. Marilyn and Debbie\u2019s sons started kindergarten together in 1974, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[156,433,133,434,432,402,262,421],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-alexis-emm","tag-deborah-bender","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-make-a-wish-of-central-new-york","tag-marilyn-sanson","tag-november-2017","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine","tag-the-philanthropy-edition"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/AEP-SWM-NOV-4-1.jpg?fit=5200%2C3443&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":962,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=962","url_meta":{"origin":1166,"position":0},"title":"Purpose Farm","author":"Staff","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Living with a Purpose By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm \u201cMy earliest memory in life is riding a rocking horse nonstop. 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The following year, shortly after Veterans Day in 2014, she joined the team at Clear Path for Veterans as a peer mentor. 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That\u2019s how I try to teach,\u201d Syracuse City School District teacher Jenniffer Benedetto said. \u201cI educate and inspire with that mindset, with love and determination.\u201d Jenniffer didn\u2019t always dream of being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photo-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photo-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photo-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photo-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photo-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":968,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=968","url_meta":{"origin":1166,"position":5},"title":"Sue Foster","author":"Staff","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Power of Failure\u00a0 By Lorna Oppedisano| Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 Sue Foster, Manlius Pebble Hill School science department chair, occasionally poses a theoretical, big picture question to her students. \u201cWhat would you do if you knew you couldn\u2019t fail?\u201d she asks. \u201cIf you were guaranteed success, what would you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1166"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1230,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions\/1230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}