On September 17th, Tokyo Families and Stellato Restaurant co-sponsored a very special event to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Japan. Make-a-Wish is an international charity that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The evening, which was comprised of a delightful seven course dinner prepared by Stellato’s new chef Koji Teshima, a live auction, and the crooning of James Moore (an up-and-coming singer from England), was a fantastic mix of fun and philanthropy.
Nineteen wishes were presented for sponsorship at the event, each one a unique personal request from a special child. These wishes ranged from, “I want to swim with my dog in the sea of Okinawa,” to “I want to meet Ariel and go to Tokyo DisneySea.” The wishes, which seem quite simple, are actually much more complex and expensive due to the extensive medical care and preparations needed for a child who has a life-threatening condition. Make-a-Wish Japan helps ease the hardships by providing everything needed to make the wishes come true.
Due to incredible generosity, all 19 wishes presented were filled early in the evening and an additional ¥2.2 Million was raised through the live auction. All in all, between personal donations and corporate matching, the grand total raised at the event was a whopping ¥11.4 Million!! Special thanks to the wish sponsors, contributors and donors for making the evening a big success, and for directly making the dreams of these very special children come true!
