Joe Hittel (centre) with Anakin Suerink and his mom Elizabeth Eckert at Saturday's Rope for Hope event in downtown Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Sheldon Spackman and Josh Hall

Make-A-Wish

Rope for Hope Red Deer returns to support children with critical illnesses

Jul 17, 2019 | 7:00 AM

An 84-year-old Red Deer man is the top fundraiser in Canada for Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Rope for Hope event, which supports children with critical illnesses.

Joe Hittel rappelled down 13 stories of Stantec Executive Place in downtown Red Deer last year, and did so again on Saturday after having raised another $32,000 on top of the $14,000 he raised in 2018. That total was second most, so he was determined to come first.

RELATED: Dozens rappel down Stantec Executive Place in support of Make a Wish

The amount of money raised will allow for three children to have their wishes granted, costing roughly $10,000 to grant each wish. In total, the Red Deer event raised approximately $75,000.

“I had a phone call one night from Make-A-Wish and this young girl said, ‘Could I speak to Joe Hittel please?’ and I said, ‘You’re speaking to him,’” he recalls. “And she says, ‘I just want to thank you very much for all the work you’re doing for the Make-A-Wish Foundation,’ so that just brought tears to my eyes to hear that.”

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In 2018, Hittel’s efforts allowed 16-year-old Anakin Suerink’s wish to come true – meeting his favourite characters from Star Wars and being presented with a trip to Walt Disney World by Darth Vader himself.

RELATED: Red Deer teen’s galactic dream comes true thanks to Make-A-Wish

“About a month later, Make-A-Wish had a party for us and I met him and his family and my family came down and we had quite an afternoon,” says Hittel. “That was another tearful afternoon. He was so happy.”

Hittel says his fundraising totals have come from the generous support of local businesses, raising money through silent auctions, online auctions and other events where local businesses have donated merchandise or portions of sales.

“I just went from business to business every day and kept on getting donations,” adds Hittel. “Some couldn’t do anything with the economy and some gave me more money than they did last year. The more news I heard from customers about their Wish Kids and stuff, the more it got me going.”

Jen Garden, Development and Events Coordinator for Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta says the event is a chance to achieve something great and help out a great cause at the same time, noting there are eight children in Red Deer currently waiting for a wish.

“People often have the sense of accomplishment because it’s counter-intuitive to rapel off a building,” says Garden. “There’s a lot of pride coming off of that event, so I’d like to see the rest of the Red Deer community come out and support these incredibly brave people who worked really hard at meeting that $1,500 minimum or go beyond that like we’ve seen with Joe and a whole bunch of other people.”

Communications and Marketing Officer Leanne Gullekson says a granted wish is a true game-changer for the kids that receive it.

“They get a chance to focus on something beyond doctors appointments and medical procedures,” explains Gullekson. “They get a chance to hang out with their family outside of a hospital setting and it gives them a chance to sort of remember what its like to just be a normal kid.”

Gullekson adds for the kids to know that donors and people they don’t even know are raising money to make it possible for them to have their wish, makes them feel the whole world is enveloping them.

“That’s really important for a kid whose living with an illness to know that people have their back.”