Wishes can come true with nonprofit helping foster children in New Jersey

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Britney Deza was 16 years old when her mother passed away and she entered foster care. After aging out of the system, the Union County resident was working full-time while going to school, and she wanted to take a real estate training course but couldn’t afford the $200 enrollment fee. Her school counselor submitted an “ask” to an organization called One Simple Wish to cover the cost, and the wish was granted.

“That meant a lot because I felt like, without them it would have been a hundred times harder to save up that money,” Deza said.

One Simple Wish is a nonprofit that grants wishes for children and families impacted by foster care.

Danielle Gletow founded the organization in 2008 after becoming a foster parent. She said she began to understand what children in the system were missing out on — just being a regular kid.

“Because there were so many moves, people making decisions for them and lack of permanency, it’s difficult for them to have the same type of access to joy as other children,” Gletow said.

She became committed to raising awareness about what foster kids go through, and providing opportunities for everyone to help, even if they were not going to become foster parents themselves.

“One Simple Wish is a place where children can be free to share their wishes, dreams and wants,” she said. “And we can bring in a community of caring, kind-hearted people that want to make those things come true.”

Gletow said she is motivated to help others because she had a difficult childhood and has struggled with anxiety and depression. “Knowing that you’re being seen and heard and that you’ve got love around you I think is one of the more valuable things and it’s just all I want for everybody.”

Christine Beyer is the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.

She said when children are in foster care, the goal is reunification with their biological families. In situations where that is not possible, kids may start to question why they can’t go home or find permanency with another family.

“Having adults, not just your foster parents or workers within a child welfare system to validate young people is important,” she said. “I appreciate that One Simple Wish continues to grow and look for partnership opportunities to really help young people in ways where the child welfare agency is not able to.”

More than material possessions

Gletow said that when a child makes a wish, it’s about much more than the item or the service that they are asking for: It’s about being seen and expressing themselves.

“A lot of their life is spent kind of just ‘getting what you get, and don’t get upset,’ or being told what you should want, or what limited options you have,” she said. “When you give people choice, you also give them dignity, and you give them the opportunity to explore new things and make new connections.”

She said when a wish comes true, “It really isn’t about the thing, it’s about everything that it represents, and also the moment and the memory it creates.”

“At the end of the day I don’t think it’s so much about the items that the children receive,” Beyer said. “It’s that somebody is there, thinking about them, caring about them.”

Gletow noted that when kids are in foster care, they must go through different programs or reach certain milestones before they have an opportunity to experience joy or feel like they’re being heard, and that can dampen hope.

“Making a wish come true helps kids to see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “It lets them say I can enjoy my life right now, even amidst some chaos.”

Today, One Simple Wish works with more than 2,000 social service agencies, community groups, schools, nonprofits and churches nationwide. The nonprofit grants more than 30,000 wishes a year, including more than 6,000 annually in New Jersey.

Beyer said that is significant. “It lets young people know, lets children know that they are valued and that they do matter.”

A wide array of wishes

Gletow said children in foster care ask for things like laptops to help with schoolwork, prom dresses, gaming systems, sneakers, Star Wars Legos, the ability to pick out their own clothes, birthday parties, slippers and music lessons.

“It’s anything that brings somebody joy, anything that somebody has been wanting,” she said.

Gletow said people can choose the individual they want to help, specify the type of wish they want to grant, and make a donation of any amount.

“Sometimes donations are pooled together to grant a wish,” Gletow said.

She also said that sharing stories of children asking for wishes is valuable.

“It helps to spread the word and propel the organization forward. It really is a way to change the conversation,” she said.

Deza was also given a new pair of work shoes from One Simple Wish.

“It meant the world to me, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I have a new pair of shoes, I don’t have to feel poor,’” she said. “It does make you feel very nice too, and it definitely pushes me to do better.”

When a wish is granted, it’s delivered by a caseworker, a foster parent, a biological parent or someone that the child knows.

“We like the delivery to be comfortable,” Gletow said. “We want that experience to feel normal, so the child doesn’t feel like they have to give some grand gesture of gratitude or put on a show.”

Deza recently graduated from Kean University with a degree in accounting. She said she wants to be an accountant while also working as an advocate in the child welfare system, because kids in foster care go through a lot of trauma, making everyday tasks hard. That can impact what they do in life.

“Eventually I’d like to own a nonprofit as well and be able to give back to the community, and build a shelter for youth,” she said.