INFO | Nine Division II schools earn Wish reveals through fundraising efforts (2023)
INFO | WU SAAC helps make dreams come true through Wish reveal (2015)
 
Indianapolis, Ind.----The Wingate University department of athletics will host an on-campus Make-A-Wish reveal ceremony in 2023-24, thanks to the fund-raising efforts of WU student-athletes during the most recent school year. Only nine NCAA Division II schools raised the necessary funds to host an on-campus Wish reveal in 2023-24.
 
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the official philanthropy of NCAA Division II. The University's athletic teams and student-athletes raise money for Make-A-Wish throughout the year, hosting a variety of fundraising events. Division II raised more than $160,000 in the 2022-23 academic year as part of its ongoing partnership with Make-A-Wish. Since 2003, Division II schools have donated more than $6.8 million to Make-A-Wish and granted over 785 wishes. 

Wingate's most recent Make-A-Wish reveal occurred in 2015, when the University's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) granted a Wish to then-Forest Hills High School senior Reagan Thomas as part of an elaborate halftime celebration during a home football game. Thomas received a Caribbean cruise from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. An active participant in the Make-A-Wish movement, Thomas was diagnosed with Chronic Hereditary Pancreatitis when she was only five years old. 
 
What They Are Saying
Dominic Byers ('22), SAAC Make-A-Wish chairman, Wingate University baseball
 
"I think it's an honor that we get to be a part of hosting a Wish reveal. Being able to be a part of a family's special day really means the world. When I came into this role as the fundraising chairman for the Wingate SAAC, we set realistic targets with the ultimate goal a Make-A-Wish reveal."
 
"As for events that we have done, our Make-A-Wish games have been a huge success. It's been a great way to get all of our teams involved in raising money to support this cause. I hope that these types of events can become a norm moving forward so we can continue to support Make-A-Wish and the families that they help."
 
Emma Kramer, NCAA Division II SAAC chair
Simon Fraser University women's basketball, Burnaby, British Columbia
 
"The partnership Division II has with Make-A-Wish is an incredibly meaningful one. We are so incredibly proud to work with such an amazing organization. Being able to help grant wishes is one of the greatest parts of being a Division II student-athlete. I can't wait to see how this partnership continues to grow."
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 15 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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