Each autumn in Miami, a gala for the best cause we can think of brings in the likes of local and A-list celebrities for one reason and one reason alone—the children. This year, the Intercontinental Miami Make-A-Wish ball celebrates with yet another event for the most-noble cause. Held at The InterContinental Miami Hotel on November 2, this year’s theme is named “magic,” so be prepared to expect the unexpected, as well as a performance by Adam Lambert. And while you’re dressed your best and sipping champagne, keep in mind that this isn’t just a party, it’s a party with a purpose.
“Make-A-Wish is an opportunity to give. Putting a smile on the face of children with life-threatening illness is all-satisfying,” explains Shareef Malnik, whose family has been involved with the charity for 19 years. “My parents, Nancy and Al Malnik, became lifetime benefactors of the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball. Nine years ago, they, along with former President, CEO and Founder of Make-A-Wish Nancy Strong, asked me to become Chairman. I have been Chairman now for nine years and two years ago I joined the Board of Directors, as well.”
As a member of the board, Malnik and his family go the extra mile to ensure Make-A-Wish stands out from other charity events. At the top of their priorities is entertainment. “Although our first goal is to raise as much money for the children as possible, it is condition upon the guests enjoying their evening. If people are entertained, they will come back. In the long run, with that philosophy and strategy, we will grant more wishes,” he explains.
Over the past nine years, the wish fund has increased from $300,000 to $1,700,000 net proceeds. All of which goes toward kids with a dream. “This is as a result of charitable contributions from a lot of great people that want to help children,” Malnik says.
Aiding in drawing in those funds is the event’s celebrity-filled guest list. This year, attendees include, Lambert, Gabrielle Anwar as the celebrity auctioneer,Flo Rida, Miami Housewives and Miami Heat players will all be saying cheers in the name of charity.
Over the last few years, stars like Anwar, Melanie Amaro, Paula Abdul, Sharon Stone, Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, Venus and Serena Williams and so many more have shown support for the event. Some of these celebs made last year’s event the most memorable by far for Malnik. “Last year’s ball stands out for several reasons: Gabrielle [Anwar] knocked the ball out of the park with the auction. We raised more money than ever before. And I was forced into a pair of ballet tights in order to offer comedic relief for the audience.”
Malnik is always willing to go that extra mile to ensure the gala is a success. “Each year my goal is to beat last year, in terms of money raised and entertainment level to guests,” Malnik says.
He applies this same philosophy to the after party as well. Now in its sixth year, the event features DJs and a fashion show by Heatherette designer Traver Rains.
Alvin Malnik is Making Magic Happen
The Southern Florida Make-a-Wish Foundation chapter has granted more than 10,000 wishes to children, making it one of the most successful chapters in the world.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation grew out of the former Arizona highway patrol officer’s effort to grant the wish of a seven-year-old boy with leukemia. The boy wanted to be a highway patrol motorcycle officer, which was in 1980. Unfortunately, the boy died a few days after receiving his wish. However, the impact of how joyful the simple act had made the child stuck with Shankwitz.
Since its inception, Make-a-Wish has granted well over 300,000 wishes. In an interview about him receiving the Medal of Honor, Shankwitz told a news reporter: “There’s a wish granted somewhere in the world every 26 minutes, all because of one little boy.”
The South Florida chapter of Make-a-Wish is one of the most robust and grants a wish to children with life-threatening medical diseases every 16 hours. Since the start of the chapter in 1983, more than 10,000 children have received wishes in the area that Make-a-Wish serves. The Southern Florida chapter covers 13 counties in Florida and also the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The president and CEO of the Southern Florida chapter, Norman Wedderburn, says there are three requirements for a child to be eligible to have a wish granted.
“We determine a child’s medical eligibility with the help of a treating physician. To receive a wish, the child must be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition. Children, who have reached the age of 2½ and are under the age of 18 at the time of referral, may be eligible for a wish. The wish can take place after the 18th birthday, but the child needed to be referred prior to that date. And a child may not have received a wish from another wish-granting organization. After all this has been determined, we make it happen.”
While many believe a child must be terminally ill to be eligible for a wish, that is not the case.
So in its more than 30 years of making dreams come true, you probably want to know some of the wishes that the chapter has granted.
“It’s been everything from tree houses to a recent one — a synthetic ice skating rink. Our children have met presidents; two children met the Pope; a child met the first lady; they’ve requested and met every celebrity you could imagine from Taylor Swift to the Jonas Brothers. We had one young girl who waited a number of years to meet Paul McCartney.”
One of the Southern Florida chapter’s “Wish” kids wanted to be in a Broadway play and Norm recalls, “we were able to get her a cameo on Broadway in the musical Wicked.” Another child wanted to be in a James Bond movie — “that was a while back,” Norm states.
Children’s wishes usually fall into four categories: “I wish to be” (something), “I wish to meet” (someone), “I wish to go” (somewhere), and “I wish to have” (something). Families are always encouraged and welcomed to participate in the experience of wish making. What is the average cost of a wish? $5,000, according to foundation statistics.
“We’ve given a number of children horses, musical equipment, such as pianos. And then there are some that I will call ‘unique’ — a young man wanted to ring the bell to close the stock exchange. And he did.”
Wishes, Wedderburn says, are as large and as wide as the imagination of the children. The foundation’s “wish granters” are volunteers who have the job to explore the imagination and go into the home of the child.
“They might really want to go to Disney World because that’s what they think is the top, but it might be something different once you start talking to them.”
The volunteers ark the children to come up with 12 potential wishes. “We then narrow it down with the child so that we can really grant the child’s ‘No. 1’ heartfelt wish.”
Wedderburn, who gave up practicing law to become the head of the non-profit group, has been the CEO of the Southern Florida chapter for the past 10 years. Wedderburn joined as a board member in 1998 after another lawyer introduced him to the organization. Wedderburn got so involved, he says, he sold his interest in his law practice to work for the organization full time.
“What’s special about Make-a-Wish,” he says, is that we can show donors the child their contribution impacted and exactly what they’ve done with their money, and that’s a really rare thing in the world of non-profits. Other organizations do incredible things, but you aren’t always aware of the impact your money is having on individuals. If you walk into my office, the walls are lined with pictures of ‘wish’ children that I have personally underwritten their wish. I know who they are, their disease, and where the dollars went.”
Make-a-Wish does not receive any state or federal funding, and all of the money to grant wishes is raised through corporate sponsorships, special events, foundation grants, and individual contributions.
While Wedderburn is proud that his chapter granted more wishes last year than all but three of the other 62 chapters in the world, he says there’s never a time to let the magic wand rest for even a second.
“While we are happy about the children we have reached, our goal is always to reach every eligible child in our community. Yes, we take a moment to celebrate our successes, but then we realize that there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Couple for a Cause
Shareef Malnik cast a spell over his soon-to-be-wife, Gabrielle Anwar with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Prior to meeting her fiancé, the Burn Notice actress had her own charities that she supported, but his dedication to Make-a-Wish now has her in a solid and recurring role. She’s going on her fourth year at the annual Wishmaker’s Ball at the InterContinental Miami as celebrity auctioneer, which this year is set for Saturday, Nov. 7.
There is no doubt about Malnik’s strong impact on the annual charity, which is a Greek mythology theme this year. “Something that she conjured up,” Malnik is shares during our interview.
“He’s so involved in the behind-the-scenes and making sure it’s a success, and every now and then I pipe up with an idea and I do it in a way that he has to listen,” Anwar jokes. “As it gets towards the night of the ball, we start rehearsing some of the ideas we’ve batted around for a few months.”
The couple’s extravagant ideas have become one of those “what will they do next?” highlights of the evening. You almost want to be a fly on the wall after listening to the two of them talk about their participation, their plans, and what surprises they have in store for this year’s event.
“Yes, we’ve had people say that to us before,” says Anwar, which is precisely why there is gag reel on YouTube of the couple “rehearsing” at the Miami City Ballet for the 2012 ball. This is where they led the crowd in a Bollywood-inspired dance to the music of “Jai Ho,” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
“She whipped me into shape to dance in front of the crowd, and it was a good eight weeks,” says Malnik. “Eight weeks to get me to look at least okay next to her — a professional dancer.”
“Last year, it was the Wizard of Oz theme; I played the wizard and was hiding underneath her dress. The year before I got to saw her in half, which was definitely my idea.”
All joking aside, Anwar speaks of her celebrity auctioneer role, which she says, she was tentative to take on because “I didn’t want to try to fill Paula Abdul’s shoes, even though they are tiny.” Abdul had been the celebrity auctioneer at 2010’s ball and the first ball Anwar had attended with Malnik.
In her role as auctioneer, she says, “You have to inspire the spending of money, which is sometimes difficult to inspire, I’ve recently learned. But hopefully, Shareef and I come up with an idea every year that is going to be humorous, instill some emotion, and eventually lead to generosity. It’s really not an easy combo,” she reveals.
Malnik, who owns the legendary Miami Beach steakhouse, The Forge, became the chairman of the gala in 2004. “I made an observation, not realizing that it would lead to me becoming chairman. I thought that the direction the ball was going had a limited life — even though it was a sold-out event.” Since he has taken over as chairman, the ball’s profits have gone from $300,000 to $2.5 million last year.
So what’s his secret? “I think first and foremost, you have to spend money to make money. That old idea that a charity should try to get everything for free, and they can be as lean as possible — you end up making less money. And the goal for me here is the wishes. What will it take for me to get the most possible wishes out of the ball? What does it take to get people to want to spend money at the ball and to develop incentives so that they want to keep coming back?”
Shareef’s father, Al Malnik, is a lifetime benefactor of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. At the 2012 gala, Al announced a $1-million donation to the charity to establish the Malnik Family Wish Fund. The contribution is intended to grant wishes “in perpetuity” to children suffering from life-threatening diseases.
“I had been around Make-a-Wish because of my father; it was the late Nancy Strom, a founder of the Southern Florida chapter, who asked me to get involved as chairman. And the more I became involved, the more it became part of my DNA,” says Shareef.
Soon after taking on the roll of chairman, his younger brother, Jarod – 6 at the time – was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, AML.
“He became eligible for a wish,” recalls Malnik. The wish Jarod got granted was to throw a strike over home plate at Fenway Park in a Red Sox game. He was able to do it and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Jarod is 16 years old and cancer free today.
“I think this happening to my family gave me more empathy for the wish families and reinforced my commitment to Make-a-Wish,” says the charity ball chairman.
While Malnik had first-hand experience, CEO Norman Wedderburn says the signature event serves a very important introductory purpose. As a main fundraising sources for Make-a-Wish Southern Florida chapter, the event is key to help “get a group of people who don’t naturally wake up one day and think about helping an organization that has not impacted their life. This gala has been used to really build awareness about the foundation and from there, get the kind of support that nurtures lifetime support. That’s the real secret in the sauce.”
Malnik adds: “It’s such a positive charity. You’re making people feel good today, as opposed to hoping that the money you give will help someone feel good some day in the future.”
Speaking of wishes, Malnik and Anwar are set to be married by the time the Wishmaker’s Ball. Dating since 2010, they’ve picked Labor Day weekend to exchange their vows.
My Wish: A Story
”I’d like to tell you my story about my cantankerous and cancerous adventure that began when I was 16 years old. I am happy to report now, however, that I am 21 and have nearly five years of cancer-free scans under my belt.
The story began in 2010 when I was participating in a drama competition in Tampa. I was sick for most of the trip — so ill that I ended up not being able to compete, let alone leave the hotel room.
A few days later, when I returned home to Miami, I felt a bit better. But as the months wore on, I continued to have a pesky cough. For the summer months, I worked as a camp counselor, but two weeks into the job, I was sick again. I went to my family doctor. His diagnosis was that I had a bacterial infection.
I kept feeling sicker and sicker. It got so bad one day that I decided an emergency room visit was in order. They suggested a chest X-ray. What was revealed was a mass that had grown larger than my heart, located on my thymus gland, smack dab in the middle of my trachea. After a slew of tests, it was discovered to be mediastinal B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. I was admitted to the hospital where I stayed for a little over two weeks. There were surgical procedures — then chemotherapy.
Dealing with cancer was the greatest hurdle of my life, but there were good experiences I didn’t even know existed, however, on the other side. I learned from hospital workers that because of my medical condition and my age, I was eligible for Make-a-Wish. It was one of sweetest things that occurred during this difficult time. And it gave me something incredibly special to look forward to — that when I finally got healthy, I would be able to, perhaps, have a wish come true. It was also a great opportunity for my family, who because of limited income, would also get the chance to do something unforgettable with me.
The road to my Make-a-Wish began after speaking with social workers in my oncology office. They told me to “dream big” since this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I didn’t only dream big, I dreamt “huge.” Over the next four years, I created a laundry list of wishes that included — but weren’t limited to — a trip to Uganda to track a family of gorillas, an Antarctic cruise, a chance to meet Nelson Mandela, and to be knighted by the Queen of England. And those were just the wishes I shared with Make-a-Wish.
I was determined to make sure that if the aforementioned wishes didn’t work out, something within the realm of possibility would come to fruition. It dawned on me that traveling was it — that was something that was in my heart to do. Since my family would be joining me, I wondered where I should go. Italy! I could spend quality time with my family, experience a new and different place, and learn about another culture.
When four years of treatment was finally over and my biopsy was negative for the lymphoma, I could finally fulfill my “wish.” I was going to Italy. The Make-a-Wish trip turned out to be one of the most enchanting and unforgettable experiences of my life, to date.
We ate delicious Italian meals, saw ancient and modern art, explored the streets, and bought mementos and souvenirs — normal tourist stuff. We visited Ischia, a volcanic island paradise that looked like a postcard. We traveled to the ruins of Pompeii and climbed to the top of Mount Vesuvius. We had a private tour of Rome and the Vatican. We climbed the Spanish Steps and on to the Coliseum. All of these experiences were astonishing, but more than that, I was grateful for the chance to be doing something special that most people would not have the opportunity to experience.”
The Make-a-Wish Foundation truly makes a difference in these children’s lives. Whether they send a toddler to Walt Disney World or a 20-year-old to Italy, what Make-a-Wish does for children with life-threatening medical conditions is provide them something to look forward to on the other side of difficult times when they are struggling with disease.
