Gala shows the power of Make-A-Wish

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Central Ohio kids in need of some hope got a lot of support Saturday at the Central Ohio Wish Gala.

The event brought out hundreds of people to bid on auction items and listen to powerful stories of strength. Make-A-Wish is showing that its wishes are truly for warriors.

Kendall Rogers is a 12-year-old living with spinal muscular atrophy.

“It mainly affects my muscles,” she said. “It affects quite literally everything besides my head. So that’s why I’m in a wheelchair because my muscles are too weak to be able to walk.”

However, that’s not stopping her from achieving her dreams. Her wish is to be an interior designer, and she did just that.

She redesigned a room, was able to take a design class, made a 3D computer model of a room and even designed a chair which was auctioned off at the event.

“It was really nice because I’m used to all online things and it’s not the most realistic things because they’re all games,” Rogers said. “But when I got to make the room in real life, that was really cool to see.”

“Kendall is just an amazing person. Her chair doesn’t define her. She’s one of the coolest people you could ever meet,” Kendall’s aunt Laura Edwards said.

At the gala, people got to hear Kendall’s story and others. Make-A-Wish shared that 80 percent of their wish kids beat their illness.

“You battle through, you get to have a day as well,” Make-A-Wish alum Ryan Herron said. “So back in ‘01, I actually had my wish granted, I was able to go coach the Harlem Globetrotters. Everyone thinks Make-A-Wish and thinks terminally ill. I’m almost 40. I still talk about my wish. It lasts for a lifetime.”

Herron was diagnosed with cancer in high school. He beat cancer and now is back helping the organization that helped him.

“It’s extremely emotional and gratifying because wishes aren’t just for those kids and what they’re going through,” he said. “It’s for the parents to have to deal with everything and actually get a break.”

“It really does help change lives, and I know that’s like a tacky saying and everyone says it about things, but when you have hope, that can really help change things and you can meet new people who do change your life,” Rogers said.

Last year, the organization granted 1205 wishes and this year, the organization hopes to top that.

“Honestly, what is so awesome about a wish, it provides so much joy in a time that we feel our children need it most, and so thinking about their wish and anticipating it allows for that joy to come to life, and so we get to be a piece of that, and then they get to experience the wish,” Make-A-Wish Foundation Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Chief Mission Officer Juli Miller said.

To make a donation or for more information on Make-A-Wish, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.