The Wish List Auxiliary Board
An Affiliated Organization of Children's Memorial Hospital

MISSION 

The Wish List Auxiliary Board is dedicated to providing for the emotional and psychological needs of children in care of Children’s Memorial Hospital. This may include toys, games, books, tutoring services, communication devices, computers, and educational equipment for the playrooms in the hospital.

VISION
 Our vision is inspired by the courage of children and families. It is sustained by the extraordinary contributions of compassionate, knowledgeable, dedicated staff and volunteers and built upon a strong tradition started in 1882 of providing unsurpassed health care for children.

HISTORY

The Wish List Auxiliary Board was born out of the volunteer office by dedicated volunteers who realized there simply were not enough supplies to support the vision of the hospital. Ted Wankovsky, a dedicated Children’s Memorial Hospital volunteer, founded the Board 26 years ago. His interaction with the kids gave him the motivation to initiate something that would truly make a difference in each child’s experience at the hospital. Mr. Wankovsky began raising funds to support the playrooms through an annual event that came to be known as Playdough Palooza. Throughout the years, the event has raised more than $1 million dollars. Mr. Wankovsky still volunteers weekly at the hospital as a tutor and remains active on the Wish List Auxiliary Board.

Currently, the Board consists of dedicated volunteers who meet twice a month to raise funding for Efforts include planning small fundraising events, and the main annual event, Playdough Palooza. Other initiatives the Board supports include: Heartlight, a support group that helps children cope with the passing of a sibling; Project Open Book, which distributes over 1,600 books to outpatients each month; and Skylight TV, which supplies internal child-oriented TV programming for the hospital’s patients.