The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants hundreds of wishes each year here on the South Plains. It takes volunteers to make the magic happen.

Ashley Sandlin and Danika Vangorder are a wish granting dream team. They attend West Texas A&M University, where they crossed paths with head basketball coach Travis Schulte.

His daughter beat cancer and will soon be soaking up the sun and hanging out on the beach on her wish trip. Finding out what the heart of her wish was took a little work.

“So everyone knew what the family was going through, and so we’d walk around campus and we’d see the purple shirts that said team Tatum,” said Sandlin. Next thing they knew, the Make-A-Wish office in Amarillo received Tatum’s referral form.

“I said I want her, she’s in Canyon that’s where I am. Our sorority can help out and sponsor the wish if we need. So we did everything we could and finally got accepted,” said Sandlin.

The next step was actually meeting Tatum and her family.

Travis Schulte, Tatum’s dad said, “They walk into our home, a strangers, someone we don’t know at all.”

They arrive with a lot of paperwork for Tatum’s parents, but bring a lot of fun for Tatum. The job of a wish granter is to help Tatum figure out what she wants to do.

“Whenever they interviewed Tatum when they asked what she liked and what she might want to do, that’s hard for an 8-year-old to decide what thing she might want to do,” said Schulte.

Sandlin said, “we asked her if she could be someone for a day, if she could go anywhere, if she could be anything. We went through the list of all the types of wishes to find out which one would be the type she wanted.”

Tatum’s parents knew of Make-A-Wish but weren’t really sure how it worked.

“The cool thing is, I didn’t really understand how the whole process worked. For them to be two college students right there in Canyon that’s a neat deal for us. It feels like they’re family now. It’s a really neat process that no one really understands until you’re right in the middle of it,” said Schulte.

Sandlin and Vangorder’s job is to get to know Tatum as well as they can, to make this the best experience for her.

“That’s kind of one of my favorite parts of being a wish granter. Getting to see a different side of them. Seeing what their favorite things are to do besides all the other stuff you see. You get to see what makes them, them,” said Vangorder.

In the end, Tatum’s wish was simple, go on a trip with her family.

So, Ashley and Danika were able to help plan her adventure to Hawaii.

“It’s been a great experience. It’s really indescribable. I highly recommend it to anyone. One wish and you’re hooked,” said Danika and Vangorder.

If you’re interested in becoming a wish granter, give the Make-A-Wish Foundation a call at 806-785-9474.