ARO Makes the Wishes of Kids Come True

The wishes of twelve children will come true thanks to the efforts of ARO team members and guests.  

The stores donated $84,944 to Make-A-Wish Utah. The donation was presented during a special check presentation at Macey’s Olympus. During the presentation, Weston, age 11 who was diagnosed with leukemia learned that his wish to go to Japan will officially be granted.  

Olympus Macey’s was the top-selling store, raising an impressive $9,979.97. Brian Simons, store director at Macey’s Olympus, and his team put together a heartwarming program for Weston and his family. After a few remarks from Regional Director Chris Otteson, Ashley Hurty, front-end manager at Macey’s, created a baseball-themed scavenger hunt for Weston and his siblings. The hunt included stops at several departments, where Weston got to try fun new activities, including mixing a drink at Starbucks, making a Kong Kone, decorating sugar cookies, selecting a cut of meat, learning about scan guns and playing cashier. He also collected prizes along the way.   

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our teams and our guests,” said Candice Fischer, director of customer relations. “Wishes give hope to children at a time when they need it most, and thanks to the efforts of our team members and the generosity of their shoppers, we are able to help grant wishes for 12 children.” 

As an expression of gratitude to the store teams, Make-A-Wish is giving each store a hand-drawn picture from different wish children.  

Guests at the stores helped with the donation. During June, guests were invited to donate by purchasing a star icon. The icons, many with the names of loved ones written on them by store guests, were displayed in the stores. Many stores found additional ways to encourage donations.  

Throughout the donation period, several kids who recently had their wishes granted visited the grocery stores where they were celebrated by the store teams. The kids were given gift baskets and allowed to try out different grocery store jobs – including cashier and cake decorator.