Community Corner

S.J. Charity the 'Facebook of Philanthropy'

The Wish Upon A Hero Foundation, a charitable social network founded in Moorestown four years ago, has granted nearly 87,000 wishes.

When 5-year-old Gabby was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, she asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation to send her and her family to Disney World so she could meet the princesses.

Before she could make the trip however, Gabby lost her battle with cancer, and Make-A-Wish could no longer grant it.

Then Gabby’s wish appeared on the Wish Upon A Hero Foundation website and founder Dave Girgenti became determined to see that it was granted.

“I remember saying, ‘This wish is getting granted no matter what,’” he said. “Gabby’s going to be with them in spirit.”

The foundation made Gabby’s wish come true, as it has countless others since it’s inception in Moorestown four years ago.

But what sets Wish Upon A Hero apart is how it grants those wishes—through a social network built on charity. Girgenti refers to the foundation as the “Facebook of Philanthropy.” But it might be more appropriately described as the “Craigslist of Philanthropy.”

Users submit wishes and other users can view those wishes and help. Requests as simple as “I wish for baby bottles” are posted—and fulfilled—daily, according to Girgenti. “It’s really interesting in that you are fully in control of who to help and how to help them ... It's people interacting directly."

Nor does the foundation limit who it helps. Wishes are broken up into categories for easy searchability and the list runs the gamut: autism, Down Syndrome, cancer, homeless, military, medical, and pets, among many others.

According to the site, a little less than 87,000 wishes have been granted to date.

Though the foundation exists primarily to facilitate giving, on occasion it steps in to grant more substantial wishes, like the World War II veteran who they sent back to Pearl Harbor on his birthday, Girgenti said, or the cancer patient who needed $10,000 for chemotherapy.

The seed for Wish Upon A Hero was planted in the wake of Sept. 11, as Girgenti watched from his home in Cherry Hill—and then firsthand as a volunteer—as thousands of people posted pictures of missing loved ones throughout New York City and thought there had to be a better way to connect people in need.

Another large-scale tragedy just a few years later—Hurricane Katrina—spurred Girgenti into action, and in 2007 his idea became reality.

He was working at a Moorestown advertising agency at the time, so the foundation maintains a Moorestown mailing address, though it has its physical headquarters in Voorhees. But really, Wish Upon A Hero’s home is online.

Girgenti said when he first conceived of the idea for Wish Upon A Hero “the words social network weren’t even words that were put together … We needed the technology to make this happen.”

And while Facebook is great for spying on friends and checking out pictures from last night’s party, Wish Upon A Hero puts the power of the Internet to its most benevolent use.

“It’s using the Web for good,” said Girgenti. “There’s not a lot (of sites) out there like that.”

Wish Upon A Hero was recently recognized at the American Giving Awards, where it was granted $125,000 by Chase Bank. 

Not surprisingly, this time of year is the foundation’s busiest. He said page views on the site—normally around 2 million per month—double in December. The number of active wishes on the site jumped from 7,000 two weeks ago to roughly 10,000 as of Thursday, Girgenti added.

With nearly 90,000 wishes in the bag, and thousands more sure to come, does he ever worry the job will become old hat?

“Will I ever get bored of this? I doubt that will ever happen,” he said. “Every story’s a different, individual story.”

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Wish Upon A Hero is a 501c3 organization and can also accept monetary donations. Visit the site to make a contribution.


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