Stephanie Berger, Silver Wishes Co-Founder, and Stacy Rea Thomas coffee conversation
For Stephanie Berger, granting a wish has never been only about the person receiving it.
Before founding Silver Wishes, Berger served as a Wish Maker
with Make-A-Wish. There, she learned that while a wish may begin with a child,
its impact extends to the entire family. Parents, siblings, volunteers and
others become part of an experience that creates joy and hope during difficult
circumstances.
Berger also spent time delivering Meals on Wheels, where she
encountered a different reality: some seniors feel invisible.
Those experiences stayed with her.
“I knew there were seniors in our community who didn't
feel seen,” Berger said. “It is important that they know they are known
and valued.”
Combined with Berger's passion for spreading kindness, those
experiences eventually led to a question: Why should the power of a wish end
with childhood?
In April 2021, Silver Wishes was born.
Today, the nonprofit has received 286 wish nominations and
granted 180 wishes. Now, Silver Wishes is taking another significant step,
expanding its reach into Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Fair Oaks and Carmichael.
And Berger is asking the community to help find the seniors
who need them.
“We need eyes and ears in the community,” she said.
From Make-A-Wish to Silver Wishes
Berger's experience as a Wish Maker helped shape a
philosophy that remains central to Silver Wishes today.
A wish has a primary recipient, but the experience doesn't
stop there.
The child receiving a Make-A-Wish experience was at the
center, but Berger saw how the child's family was affected, too. She saw what
happened to the people who participated in creating the experience.
Years later, that lesson would become fundamental to Silver
Wishes.
The organization grants wishes to seniors, but Berger
believes the impact of a wish can travel far beyond the senior receiving it.
She calls it the Dandelion Effect.
Imagine blowing on a dandelion. One seed becomes many,
carried outward and eventually landing somewhere new.
Berger sees kindness working the same way.
One act touches a senior. But it also touches the volunteer
who helps make the wish happen, the business that donates a product or service,
the donor who provides financial support, the senior's family, neighbors and
others who witness the experience.
Then those people have the opportunity to spread kindness
again.
“The ripple effect is real,” Berger said. “It doesn't stop
with the senior. It touches the volunteers, the businesses, the donors and the
families.”
In fact, one of the biggest surprises for Berger has been
discovering what Silver Wishes gives back to her.
“I didn't expect the level of joy I am receiving,”
she said. “When I see the ripple effect, it is real and it is happening.”
Sometimes a Wish Is a Basic Necessity
The word wish can conjure images of dream vacations
and once-in-a-lifetime bucket-list experiences.
That's not necessarily what Berger and the Silver Wishes
board encounter.
After hundreds of nominations, a pattern has emerged: many
seniors aren't asking for extravagant experiences.
They're asking for basic things.
Some are financially strapped. Something many people would
consider an ordinary household expense or necessity can be beyond the senior's
means.
That discovery has helped Berger better understand the
population Silver Wishes serves.
The wish may be practical, but its impact can be profound.
Something that improves mobility can restore independence.
Something that makes a home more comfortable can allow a senior to live with
greater dignity. A relatively simple need being met can relieve a burden that
has weighed on someone for months or years.
Silver Wishes isn't simply asking, What would you like?
It is asking what difference granting that wish could make
in the senior's life.
How a Silver Wish Is Granted
The process starts with the community.
A senior can nominate themselves for a wish. A friend can
nominate someone. So can a neighbor, family member or another community member
who sees a senior with a need.
The nominations then go before Silver Wishes' eight-member
board, which reviews them monthly.
The first consideration is whether the senior and the
request meet the organization's wish criteria.
Among those criteria, the senior must be cognitively aware
that they are receiving the granted wish.
That requirement reflects an important aspect of Silver
Wishes' philosophy: the senior isn't simply the beneficiary of an anonymous
charitable transaction. The experience of knowing that someone noticed, someone
cared and someone wanted to do something specifically for them is part of the
wish itself.
The board also evaluates the potential impact of the request
before deciding which wishes to grant.
To date, the community has submitted 286 nominations, and
Silver Wishes has granted 180 wishes.
Behind each number is a person.
And behind each nomination is another person who first
noticed.
Learning to Build a Nonprofit
Silver Wishes was founded in April 2021 by Berger and
co-founder Cyndi Dolan, who is no longer involved with the organization.
For Berger, starting Silver Wishes also meant learning what
it takes to build and operate a nonprofit organization.
In November 2021, she joined the board of the Lincoln
Community Foundation in part because she wanted to understand the inner
workings of a nonprofit, including the important compliance responsibilities
that happen behind the scenes.
There was a natural connection between the work, too.
The Lincoln Community Foundation awards grants to support
organizations and needs in the community. Berger saw a parallel between
evaluating grants and evaluating wishes: resources are limited, needs are
plentiful, and thoughtful decisions have to be made about where those resources
can create meaningful impact.
That education helped Berger develop not just as a Wish
Maker, but as the leader of a growing nonprofit.
The Next Chapter
Five years after its founding, Silver Wishes is entering a
new phase.
What began in Placer County is expanding.
Silver Wishes is now moving into Citrus Heights, Orangevale,
Fair Oaks and Carmichael, creating the opportunity to reach seniors across a
broader region.
But expanding into a community doesn't automatically mean
Silver Wishes will find the seniors who need it.
That's why Berger is looking for more “eyes and ears in the
community.”
A neighbor might notice that the senior next door is
struggling.
A business owner might hear a customer's story.
A church member might recognize that someone in the
congregation has a need.
A friend might know that a senior would never ask for help
themselves.
A community volunteer might encounter someone who has
quietly gone without something important because they simply cannot afford it.
Those people can become the connection between that senior
and Silver Wishes.
And sometimes, the most important first step isn't granting
the wish.
It's noticing the person.
A Community That Sees Its Seniors
That idea goes back to Berger's Meals on Wheels experience.
Some seniors feel invisible.
Silver Wishes wants them to know they aren't.
A wish can provide something tangible, but it can also
deliver a much more fundamental message:
We see you.
We know you're here.
You matter.
You are valued.
And then the Dandelion Effect begins.
The senior receives an act of kindness. The volunteer
experiences the joy of giving. A business discovers another way it can serve
its community. A donor sees the human impact of a contribution. A family is
touched by what happens to someone they love.
One act creates another.
Berger started Silver Wishes intending to bring hope and joy
to seniors. What she didn't anticipate was how much joy she and others would
receive in return.
That discovery may ultimately be one of the most powerful
things about Silver Wishes.
Kindness isn't depleted when it's given away.
It multiplies.
Become Part of the Dandelion Effect
As Silver Wishes enters Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Fair
Oaks and Carmichael, Berger's invitation to the community is simple: pay
attention.
Look around.
Who is the senior in your neighborhood who might be
struggling quietly?
Who has stopped doing something they love because they can't
afford what they need?
Who might never nominate themselves?
Who needs to know that somebody sees them?
Be the eyes and ears that notice.
Nominate a senior. Volunteer. Support a wish. Introduce
Silver Wishes to a business that might be able to help. Tell someone else about
the organization.
And there is another opportunity to get involved: Silver
Wishes will host Bingo on October 14.
Come play. Meet the people behind the organization. Learn
about the wishes being granted and the seniors being served.
Most importantly, become part of what Berger calls the
Dandelion Effect.
Because after 286 nominations and 180 wishes, Silver Wishes
has learned that granting a wish isn't necessarily where the story ends.
Sometimes it's where the next act of kindness begins.
