Ten-year-old Alex and his family joined the millions of other Americans who watched online as April the Giraffe gave birth to baby Tajiri nearly two months ago.
When Alex, who has a life-threatening seizure disorder, was offered a wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he and his family knew exactly what that would be; they would travel from their home in Avon, Ohio to meet April in person!
On June 6, Alex and his family experienced a wish-come-true when they arrived at April’s home – Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y. They received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour and met April, her new calf Tajiri, and Tajiri’s dad, Oliver.
Fifteen-year-old April delivered in an enclosed pen at the Animal Adventure Park zoo in Harpursville in April. The park’s live stream saw at least 1.2 million people watching the birth of the calf, which is April’s fourth, and accumulated a total of close to 10 billion viewing minutes.
“When we received the call from Make-A-Wish, this was truly a no-brainer for us. April has had such an impact worldwide and we want to ensure that her exposure not only has an impact on animal conservation efforts, but also on any lives that she can touch in a positive way. Alex and his family are wonderful people and we were all happy to meet them and welcome them to our park,” said Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park.
Make-A-Wish is dedicated to granting the special wishes of kids like Alex who face life-threatening medical conditions. Since Make-A-Wish Central New York’s inception in 1985, more than 1,700 wishes have been granted throughout its 15-county region, which includes Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
For more information about Make-A-Wish Central New York, visit cny.wish.org or call (315) 475-WISH (9474).
Be the first to comment on "Make-A-Wish® and Animal Adventure Park grant Ohio boy’s wish"