Newport Beach couple turns wedding registry into fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation
Bob Shahmardi was 4 years old when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The eldest child of two Iranian immigrants who moved to the United States in 1985, Shahmardi said he remembers being awakened by his mother and being moved to the family’s guest room. Then, suddenly, the room was filled with numerous men, and he vividly remembers telling people he felt fine. Before he knew what was happening, he was rushed to UCI Medical Center.
By the next morning, he was transferred to USC.
“It was made clear to [my parents] that I was diagnosed with ALL,” said Shahmardi. “At that point hearing how my parents took that news and not understanding the big picture of what this was and the journey that they were going to have to [face] head on is more telling today when I kind of understand life a little better as I’ve grown up. At that time, luckily, we were in California.”
Shahmardi said success rates with chemotherapy were relatively low when he was diagnosed, but his family was lucky to find a community that embraced theirs when they didn’t have many resources.
It was at that time that Make-A-Wish stepped in. Through that organization, the Shahmardi family got to enjoy a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
“It wasn’t just going on a trip. It was more of a framework that created this impact on our lives and it probably impacts a lot of people differently,” said Shahmardi. “But for us, it was this framework of how we got through this time. The impact was more fun for me because I got to do all these activities and we were with similar families like ours.
“But for my parents, it was like a lifeline for them.”
For that reason, 30 years later, he and his now-wife, Jill Welch, decided to turn their wedding registry into a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter for Orange County and the Inland Empire. Their wedding guests financed two wishes for local children, with more planned.
Welch said the couple met at a Sunday brunch held at Woody’s Wharf in Newport Beach. The two attended the same undergraduate program and had a mutual friend.
They became engaged in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit, though Welch joked it didn’t really delay their plans.
“Planning isn’t our number one thing,” Shahmardi said with a laugh.
The couple said they always wanted to do something with their wedding to give back, whether for the environment or other causes, before they settled on Make-A-Wish.
They got married on Sept. 11, 2021, in Pioneertown, Calif.
“The ability for us to implement [the Make-a-Wish registry] quickly in a virtual world was extremely helpful, and I think it went better than anything else could have gone. It touched our family, we have an amazing story,” said Shahmardi. “Our goal was just to raise one wish and then fill the difference.”
Welch said many of their guests donated generously to the cause, spending more, perhaps, than they might have if it was just to buy the couple a wedding gift like fine china or a kitchen appliance.
“We weren’t expecting it. We thought it’d be $20 here, $50 there — it would add up, but people were donating way more than that,” said Welch.
Shahmardi said their wedding donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation isn’t going to be a “one and done” situation. The two plan on continuing to contribute going forward.
Gloria Jetter Crockett, Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire president and chief executive officer, said she felt it was amazing to have a Make-A-Wish alum come back to pay it forward to other kids looking for wishes.
Contrary to popular belief, both Crockett and Shahmardi stressed that wishes aren’t given to critically ill children as a “last wish” but are given as a part of the treatment process.
Crockett said wishes tend to average $9,500 to $10,000 now, though the cost has declined some over the last two years because of COVID-19 and the limits it can put on vacation trips or meet-and-greets the organization arranges.
The Orange County and Inland Empire chapter saw donations come in at $1 million less in the last fiscal year than usual.
The chapter granted at least 165 wishes in the last year. This year Crockett hopes to grant somewhere between 199 and 299 wishes, depending on funding.
Crockett said this isn’t the first time the foundation has seen Make-A-Wish alums come and give back to the organization. Some give back in ways of direct donations while others go out as ambassadors to speak to individuals. She said the organization is currently looking for construction contractors that could help for wishes like room makeovers and play sets in addition to donations.
“We’re just so excited because [wish recipients] know how a wish impacted them and how joyous it can be to getting to that place of ‘I’m a kid and I get to do this.’ Any way that we can come together and do that is just super special,” Crockett said.
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