MUSCATINE, Iowa — At least two Muscatine businesses have been instrumental in helping make wishes come true.

A volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa hopes other Muscatine residents will follow the example set by IPSCO Steel Inc. and Allsteel.

“I hope that we can encourage more Muscatine people to become involved,” said Harry Cockrell, a Make-A-Wish volunteer in Bettendorf.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa’s sold-out Share the Power of a Wish gala and fundraiser will be held at  6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at Davenport’s RiverCenter. The Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Cockrell said IPSCO and Allsteel have been exceptional about donating in past years at the gala, as well as holding fundraisers and contributing to the wishes for Muscatine area children.

IPSCO holds an annual golf event for Make-A-Wish. The company started out sponsoring one wish per year several years ago, but that has grown to four or five wishes per year, according to Bill Zinkewich, a company vice president.

“If you were to ask an employee here what their favorite charity is, I’d say it’s Make-A-Wish. Between 25 and 33 percent of the guests at the annual dinner last year were Ipsco employees,” Zinkewich said of attendance at the gala.

Zinkewich said IPSCO employees are fairly young and many have children. They open their hearts and wallets to grant a wish for children and request that the money stay in east-central Iowa.

“This is something our employees hold dear to their heart. We get them [the kids] gifts and go to the airport to see them off, and upon their arrival we’ll be there to welcome them home,” Zinkewich said.

Cockrell said one wish can typically cost $7,000 to $8,000.

Zinkewich said IPSCO raises the money by matching the donations made by its employees.

“What better way to give back to the community than to put a smile on a little kid’s face,” he said.

IPSCO gave a wish this past year to Muscatine’s Bailee Williams, a 3-year old who was diagnosed with leukemia.

“It’s an amazing organization for the families of children who have life-threatening illnesses,” said Williams’ mother, Carey Ginster.

Williams was sent to Disney World in early May 2007 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and donations from IPSCO.

“It’s amazing. She remembers everything. When she met Cinderella her expression is forever engraved in my memory,” Ginster said.

Last week, Williams finished her last chemotherapy treatment and if she is cancer-free for five years, doctors believe she’ll be cured, her mother added.

“It was touching to see little Bailee’s face light up, and you wouldn’t even have known she was as sick as she really was,” Zinkewich said of when she learned about the trip.

Muscatine’s Allsteel has also been a great contributor to Make-A-Wish, and last year hosted the annual gala.

The company’s mission started with one young man’s dream.

Tim Stange of Muscatine lived with heart muscle disease called cardiomyopathy. In November 2002, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a terminal disease. He was granted a wish and chose to buy gifts for his entire family.  Stange died in 2005, but he lived long enough to inspire the employees of Allsteel, where his mother, Ann, is still employed. The 19-year old

man wanted to give back to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Scott Mills, vice president and general manager of Allsteel, said Tim Stange showed up with collection jars to start a fundraiser at the plant.

“Tim came out to meet with the employees and we decided to take his idea a step further. We do an annual fundraiser in August, and we still do it in his name,” Mills said.

Mills said the organizers try to put a face with each charitable drive and invite the kids and family to be at the fundraisers so the employees can get to know them. They also try to step up the fundraising efforts. In 2004 they raised $4,300 for Make-A-Wish. That number had more than doubled to $9,600 by 2007.

“Everybody cried at Cameron’s going away party,” Mills said of 5-year-old Cameron Christiansen, who was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer called Wilm’s disease when he was 2. Christiansen was granted a wish to go to Disney World in 2005. Allsteel threw him a party and employees were touched by the child’s story.

“If it doesn’t touch you, nothing ever will,” Mills said.

Reporter contact information

Melissa Regennitter: 563-262-0526

or mregennitter@muscatinejournal.com

DETAILS

What: Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa’s Riverbend Area Committee Share the Power of a Wish gala

Where: The Mississippi Room at the RiverCenter, 136 E. Third St., Davenport.

When: 6 p.m., silent auction and cocktails. 7:30 p.m., dinner, program, live auction and dance.

Contact details: Tickets are sold out for the event. To donate an item for the auction, contact

Bill Moylan at 563 326-5331 ext. 225 or Julie Edmunds at riverbendgala@hotmail.com.

More Info:

There are 796 guests expected, including many of the Wish Children and their families. Several of the families will share their wish experiences during a brief presentation.

Live auction items include a one week vacation for two in Mexico. There will also be a painting by Brent Langley a Coal Valley, Ill., wildlife artist, entitled “Sharing the Adventure.”