Make-A-Wish: Letter is hoax

"Foundation says letter that requests business cards for boy with life-threatening disease is not legitimate."

By Lillian Zier Martell
The Wichita Eagle

A letter circulating around Wichita the past several weeks asking that business cards be sent to fulfill the wishes of a 7-year-old boy with a brain tumor is not legitimate, and the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is urging people not to respond.

"This has been going on literally for years," said Pat Renze, director of program services for Make-A-Wish in Wichita. "It has never had anything to do with the Make-A-Wish Foundation."

The most recent letter asks people to send a business card to "Craig Shelford" in Atlanta.

The story described in the letter is similar to that of Craig Shergold, who at age 9 was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1989. Shergold requested get-well cards in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. He met his goal with help from the Children's Wish Foundation International, a different organization from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Shergold recovered after undergoing treatment and lives in England with his family, according to Children's Wish Foundation International's Web site. A spokeswoman at the Atlanta-based agency did not return phone calls Wednesday.

The letter that circulated recently in Wichita says that Via Christi Medical Management had asked businesses to participate.

"The whole thing is bogus," said Kristin Altimari, marketing coordinator for Via Christi Medical Management.

She has received numerous phone calls in the past few weeks from people seeking verification, and she tells them not to participate.

A request for public participation in something such as collecting greeting cards or business cards is not something the Make-A-Wish Foundation would do, Renze said.

The foundation grants wishes to Kansas children between age 2 1/2 and 18 who suffer from a life-threatening illness. Wishes range from meeting a favorite celebrity to Disney World trips.

The letter reappears frequently with different variations of the boy's last name, Renze said.

Collecting the business cards may be a way of compiling a mailing list, she said. "Otherwise, we don't know the motivation." 

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