How many children can say they’ve thrown a pigskin with Mickey Mouse? Thanks to the Walt Disney Company, one heartfelt wish and the generosity of a local college, 4-year-old Kaden can now lay claim to that honor.

And Kaden isn’t the only one who experienced pure joy when his wish came true. From Kaden’s family, to the Walt Disney World® Resort cast members, to the students and professors at Tyler Junior College who sponsored his wish, the impact of a simple football game reached far and wide.

Mom’s View from the Sidelines

Kaden’s wish to play football with Mickey Mouse was easy for him to decide because he LOVES Mickey Mouse and he LOVES football – so he just combined them and created his perfect wish.

Kaden’s favorite part of his wish was when he ran between Mickey’s legs and scored! His wish was a dream-come-true. The Make-A-Wish Foundation^® thought of everything – down to the last detail. We had the perfect weather for a football game.

When Mickey came out in his football gear, I have never seen Kaden’s eyes light up more in my entire life. It was a day we will never forget. There are not words to even begin to thank the Foundation for what they did for our family.

You are not only granting wishes – you are changing lives.

My favorite part of Kaden’s wish was meeting the college students and their professor who worked so hard to raise the funds so that Kaden could have his wish. They will probably never know how much this meant to our son, and how much it meant to us to know that there are people out there who are willing to give so much and expect nothing in return. Some people may think that the child’s wish is the most important thing – but we learned that just knowing that there were people out there who cared meant the most of all.

-- Amy, Kaden’s mom

In the Professor’s Words: Life Lessons from Granting Wishes

Our business leadership class sponsors a wish every year. We define leadership as making a positive impact on other people’s lives, so the Make-A-Wish^® project fits perfectly with the objectives of the class.

But it’s more than that – once the students meet the children they are sponsoring, they are changed forever.

They completely dedicated themselves, making huge sacrifices of time and energy to reach their goal. It changes their view of the world and of themselves. The impact goes way beyond the campus here at TJC.

-- Don Blaine, Professor of Business Management, Tyler Junior College

The Final Score

And if you were wondering, Kaden’s mom reports that he won the game – but Mickey was a great sport.

Disney is proud to be a long-time supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® and uses its magic to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Over the past 30 years, Disney has supported the Make-A-Wish^® mission, contributing more than $8 million in cash and in-kind donations each year. With more than 7,000 wishes granted every year – including visits to the Disney Parks, Disney cruises, meeting Disney characters, attending sporting events and visiting TV and movie sets – Disney-themed wishes continue to be the most popular requests by children to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.