Blake Pavlik and Parker Stava are the brains behind this year’s first annual Wish Week. We were lucky enough to sit down with them and hear about the process of organizing and running Wish Week. Regis Jesuit’s Wish Week was April 23-29th.

How did you get involved with Make a Wish?

Blake: I got involved early last year, Junior year, Regis sent out a Red and White email that said “Hey wanna join the Make-A-Wish Youth Leadership Council?” so I got into that and signed up and got accepted.

Parker: At the end of last year Blake nominated me to become part of the council, so I applied and was accepted.

Why did you want to do a wish week?

Parker: They are such a good way to raise money for a really amazing cause, especially after being so involved with Make-A-Wish through the council it has been so amazing to be able to interact with these kids and see the impact that Wish Weeks have had in our state and around the country. It just sounded like an amazing opportunity.

Blake: So many other high schools do it, so we just wanted to get involved because it seemed like a lot of fun. We have been trying to get a Wish Week for a while now because it is a great way for people to get involved in a good cause.

How did you find Johnny?

Parker: We get assigned Wish Kids by talking with the employees at Make-A-Wish Colorado, then based on our school profile, the dates of our wish week, and the activities we want to do they give us a kid.

What is the youth leadership council?

Blake: The Youth Leadership Council is a board of high school students involved with Make-A-Wish Colorado that work specifically to fundraise for Make-A-Wish and be involved with the organization as a whole. We fundraise, hold events, and get involved with other schools and companies that help our Make-A-Wish.

How did you come up with the activities?

Blake: We brainstormed in [servant leadership] class. It was a little difficult this year because of COVID restrictions, but we just wanted to come up with some activities that everyone could get involved in and get excited about.

What is our fundraising goal?

Parker: Our fundraising goal is $10,000, which is a pretty standard goal for a first year Wish Week school. We are projected to raise more than that.

What has been the most difficult part of the planning process?

Parker: In my opinion the most difficult part was definitely getting sponsorships. Sponsors are very key to a successful Wish Week, because they provide the money so we can net zero with Wish Week costs, so if we didn’t sell any t-shirts, the school would not lose any money. If we need to pay for events or materials, the sponsors help us out. It basically takes away the risk so the Wish Week is all profit.

Blake: Yeah, without that money we would not have been able to put on this Wish Week.

What has been the easiest part?

Parker: Picking out the spirit days.

Blake: Yeah honestly just picking dress down days and activities. Obviously it was a little more difficult because of COVID restrictions but we made it work.

What has working with Make-A-Wish taught you?

Parker: Time management skill and how to deal with stuff under pressure

Blake: It really taught me about leadership, kinda like running a business. We had to run events under certain restrictions with a goal in mind.