11-11-11: Make A Wish For Make-A-Wish

By Shannon Hicks

Since the beginning of this century, many couples have taken advantage of the infrequent lineup of numerals within dates (01-01-01, 02-02-02, etc) to schedule big events, often a wedding.

Lia Levitt is not getting married yet, but she has been planning for years to do some kind of party to coincide not only with the confluence of numbers on November 11, 2011, but also to take advantage of a favorite family tradition.

“I wanted to do something special for the occasion since 11 has always been my favorite and lucky number,” said the Newtown resident, 31, who is single-handedly planning a special event she is calling The 11-11 Wishes Come True Soirée. “I was having a conversation with a friend, telling her that this date was coming up and that I wanted to do something, and her daughter was the one who pointed out, ‘Everyone makes a wish at 11:11.’ It was like an epiphany. A light bulb went off in my head. I do that! Every time I notice it’s 11:11, either in the morning or at night, I stop and make a wish.

“I had to leave their house and go home and start planning,” she continued with a laugh. “I wasn’t going to throw that party for my friends any more. I was going to do this big thing, and make it count.”

The 11-11 Wishes Come True Soirée will be held at Roberto’s Restaurant, 505 Main Street in Monroe. It will feature food and silent auction items from a number of Newtown and local restaurants and businesses, plus music and dancing, and just may help a child with life-threatening illness receive a wish.

Doors will open at 7 pm and the event will run until just past 11:11.

“My 11:11 wish-making thing has been going on for as long as I can remember,” said Ms Levitt. “My sister and I would look at each other at the radio in the car, or a clock radio, on any day, and make a point of making our wish. Now any time I see that time, any time people are around, I mention it out loud.

“I love the idea of so many people being together to make a wish,” she continued. “Whether this is something that you already know about and do, or it’s something that is new to you, everyone will be making a wish together. This is epic, really.”

Tickets are $55 per person, which includes the catered appetizers and desserts from local restaurants, dinner by Roberto’s, and even wine. (Wine for the event has been donated by Barefoot Wine, but a full cash bar will also be operating.)

Full tables, which seat eight to ten people, can also be purchased for $500.

As of this week Ms Levitt has secured promises to participate from Roberto’s Restaurant; The Inn at Newtown, The Meat House, Mona Lisa Restaurant, demitasse café, The Villa Restaurant, and Pub 25, all of Newtown; and The Cookhouse of New Milford.

“This is going to be a way for people to come in and taste what this community has to offer,” she said.

While everyone is making their wish shortly after 11 that evening, they can take heart in knowing that all funds raised through ticket sales and the evening’s silent auction will be donated to The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut.

Hope, Strength, and Joy

Based in Trumbull, the mission of Make-A-Wish of Connecticut is simple: To grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions “to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.”

“There’s nothing like making a wish come true for a child facing a life-threatening medical condition,” the chapter’s mission statement continues. “When we grant children their heartfelt wishes, we help them experience hope, strength, and joy.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America was officially incorporated in May 1983. The Connecticut chapter, which serves the entire state, received its charter in 1986 and has granted hundreds of wishes in the past 25 years.

Children with life-threatening illnesses (not just terminal) between the ages of 2½ and 18 can be referred to the foundation to have a wish granted. The foundation considers requests on a case-by-case basis, and extends wishes to a child and his or her immediate family in order to share the magic of an experience.

There is no cost to the family for a wish. According to Make-A-Wish of Connecticut, the average cost of a wish is $8,500, and is quickly approaching $10,000.

“Every little bit counts,” said Ms Levitt. “Together we can make a wish happen.”

Those who are unable to attend the Soirée are invited to make a donation which, like all proceeds from the November 11 event, will be donated directly to Make-A-Wish. Tax-deductible donations can be done online at www.friends.wish.org/054-000/page/Lia-Levitt/11-11-Wishes-Come-True-Soirée -.htm

“I think Make-A-Wish is something people have heard of, but unless it directly affects them — a friend, a neighbor, a colleague — you hear about it, and you think it’s a great idea, and you look kind of past that,” said Ms Levitt. While she has not had a friend or family member who has been helped by the foundation, it turns out she does have an unusual connection to Make-A-Wish.

“I have heard from my neighbor that my house was actually owned by family who received a wish,” she said. “A girl who lived in my house before I bought it, she was in a wheelchair and she needed a ramp and playthings. My neighbor told me the family was a recipient of all of that from Make-A-Wish.

“It almost seems fated to me,” said Ms Levitt, who is hoping The 11-11 Wishes Come True Soirée becomes an annual event.

Ms Levitt is the picture of a multitasker. She is organizing the special event between working a full-time corporate job in Danbury, teaching two nights a week as an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut State University, and even running her own business offering college admissions consultations for clients in four of the state’s eight counties.

While she does not yet need volunteers for the November 11 event, she is still accepting donations for the silent auction. The auction so far will include items or gift certificates from Adam Broderick Salon & Spa, Figs Wood Fired Bistro, Caron Designs, Dragonfly Designs, Ergo Chef, Leal Designs, McLaughlin Vineyard, Pizza Palace, Ricci’s Salon, and Sabrina Style. Again, Ms Levitt expects to have more businesses offering items before the night of the event. Updates are posted regularly on the website mentioned above as well as on the event’s Facebook page (11-11 Wishes Come True Soirée ).

While countless others will be taking advantage of the numerology of November 11 for their wedding, Lia Levitt hopes to be surrounded by a roomful of people just looking to have fun at a formal event. It may not be a wedding party, but it will be an event with plenty of similarities.

“A friend of mine has already told me ‘You’re absolutely crazy. You’re booking a room, caterers, you’re gathering gifts. You’re essentially planning a wedding without a bride, groom, parents, or a bridal party,’” she said.

Tickets for The 11-11 Wishes Come True Soirée can be purchased via e-mail at wisheventickets@yahoo.com.

They can also be purchased at the office of Church Hill Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation, 30 Church Hill Road; The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road; or Monroe Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation, 401 Monroe Turnpike (within Village Square Medical Offices). For additional information contact Ms Levitt at 203-947-5271.