Sasha helps makes wishes come true

Photos ©2006 by Maren Ollmann

Make-A-Wish® International and NBC Universal Team Up
to Make Wishes Come True in Torino

February 12, 2006

Phoenix, Ariz.-- – The 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, play host to the world’s best athletes competing to make their wish for Olympic gold come true.

In the true spirit of the Games, Make-A-Wish Foundation International and NBC Universal teamed up to grant the wishes of five children with life-threatening illnesses who dreamed of attending the Torino Games.

On February 11, NBC Universal organized a day at the 2006 Olympics for the Make-A-Wish children, which entailed a private performance at the GE Ice Plaza by the Magic Poets, dinner with surprise guest and Olympian Sasha Cohen, and priority seating at the pairs figure skating competition.

The group was also joined by four local children from AREA, an Italian organization dedicated to assisting underprivileged families with handicapped children. GE Vice Chairman and NBC Universal Chairman and CEO, Bob Wright, and his wife, Suzanne, hosted the event.

“Suzanne and Bob Wright – and all of NBC Universal – have embraced the spirit of making wishes come true,” said Victoria Ames, CEO, Make-A-Wish Foundation International. “They have taken the essence of the Make-A-Wish mission and made it a reality for these children who, like the Olympic athletes themselves, have dreamed about these Games for such a long time.”

Make-A-Wish Foundation International grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses around the world. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the world’s largest wish-granting charity, with a presence in more than 30 countries on five continents. With the help of generous donors and more than 36,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted almost 150,000 wishes to children around the world since its creation in 1980. For more information about Make-A-Wish Foundation International, please visit www.worldwish.org.