Catie’s Wish Highlights

A foundation bearing the name of MaryCatherine “Catie” O’Brien was created shortly after what would have been her eighth birthday. We have secured tax exempt status and 501(c)3 non-profit approval.

The Caties Wish logoWe held a logo contest and it is one of our goals to have the logo become recognizable to all as Catie’s Wish Foundation. The logo is a calendar page for Catie’s birthday. It has a giant white dandelion in the center. When Catie was about five years old, she called dandelions “wishes.” The colors of the logo are shades of purple — Catie’s favorites.

We have a mission statement. Our goal is to eradicate pediatric cancer through prayer and research. We realized after the year we spent with Catie that even a billion dollars would not cure her cancer. Time and research are needed, time that many of today’s kids with cancer do not have. As a result we split our goals knowing that God and Catie’s Wish can make a difference with prayer for today’s children battling their cancers.

The financial goal for each year is $2.0 million. Each year we will work to raise this amount for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as per Catie’s wish. This amount equates to one day’s worth of operating expenses for the hospital.  This money will make a difference for all those who made a difference for Catie: the doctors, nurses, staff and fellow patients at St. Jude.

We have enlisted the help of school children. There are 2 million children attending Catholic schools in the U.S. We have approached those who helped Catie and our family in years past, and several others have approached us.

Catie’s Prayer Partners. This is what sets Catie’s Wish apart from other charitable foundations. We seek others to join us in praying for the end of cancer and in praying for all of those who have asked us to pray on behalf of their children battling cancer. We also request that prayers be offered for the success of the foundation that bears Catie’s name. Finally, we ask for prayers for Catie, if it be God’s will, to become the Patron Saint of Pediatric Illnesses.

We have created a line of Catie’s Wish Gear that is available for purchase. Custom ordering is available for larger orders identifying your school, team, church, or organization as members of Catie’s Team.

We have created a line of greeting cards with scanned images of Catie’s artwork. This is a project that Catie began before she died, as she attempted to make a difference for kids with cancer.

There are videos about Catie’s Final Wish available to aid in spreading the word about Catie’s Wish and awareness about pediatric cancer.  These are available on the Video Page of the website.

We have prepared a small collection of the Catie’s Story updates. We hope to one day see Catie’s Story published, sharing Catie and her wish with a larger audience.

We have selected our advisory board. We are modeling Catie’s Wish after Jesus, and we have selected twelve advisors to prayerfully assist us in understanding God’s will for Catie’s Wish and to guide us in following that will.

We have decided to call those that help spread the word “Catie’s Wish Ambassadors.” Again following the Gospel, we are selecting 72 ambassadors to go out and help us share the story of Catie’s Wish.

We have completed a video for the school program. Please contact us if you wish to receive a copy.

We are working to create materials to assist our ambassadors. These include prayer cards to share with prayer partners and a brochure as another means of spreading the word about Catie’s Wish.

We have sent out over fifty packages of promotional materials to ambassadors and other faith-filled followers of Catie’s Story, to continue to spread Catie’s Wish.