Make-A-Wish Sending Oregon Teen To Star Trek Vegas Convention

This summer the The Make-A-Wish Foundation is making a dream come true for one young Trekkie. Over the weekend Make-A-Wish (with the help of some local Star Trek groups) held a Star Trek-themed party for a Trek fan and granted his wish to go to the big Las Vegas Star Trek convention in August. Details below.

 

Oregon teen given Star Trek Wish

16 year-old Sean from Hillsboro, OR, who suffers from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, has always dreamed of going to a big Star Trek convention. Enter the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity which grants wishes to kids with life-threatening conditions. Over the weekend Make-A-Wish held a special party for Sean, where they made his wish come true, arranging for Sean (accompanied by his sister) to attend the biggest Trek con, Creation’s official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas this August.

Sean’s party was also a special Trek event, attended by members the USS Wolf 359  and USS Thermopylae Star Trek fan clubs, along with most of the cast of the Portland theater group for Trek in the Park. In total there were around 40 people at the party for Sean, many of which were in Trek costume. At the event Sean was given a certificate making him a crewmember of the USS Wolf 359 and member of the Starfleet fan club. Captain Cowan issued Sean his first "sealed orders," which were to attend the Vegas convention on behalf of USS Wolf 359 and to get as many Star Trek stars as possible to sign a holographic poster made for him. Sean was also given a number of Trek gifts including a custom Next Generation captain’s uniform, a com badge, phaser, Star Trek tech manual, and a Geordi LaForge VISOR.

8 Enlistment 3
Sean enlisted into Starfleet and the USS Wolf 359

The party included a screening of the two part TNG episode "Best of Both Worlds" and there was even a Star Trek themed cake. In addition, the cast of Trek in the Park invited Sean to be a guest of honor at one of their "Mirror, Mirror" performances in July. Young Sean was so excited about his day that he exclaimed he had a dream the night before and everything he dreamed of came true and more.

TrekMovie will try and meet up with Sean in Las Vegas and to see how he is doing fulfilling his "orders."

Full Group Shot 2
Sean shows off his Star Trek cake as he prepares to go to the Star Trek Vegas Convention thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

To learn more about The Make-A-Wish Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.wish.org.

Thanks to Kelly Guimont for helping with this article and for the photos

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So cool!

I hope he gets special passes and isn’t waiting in line for hours to complete his “mission”.

A great event and a great charity.

I hope he has tons of fun.

Hey Bob Orci. Get this Kid a Walk on Role in the new Trek Movie.
I love the make a wish foundation. I have donated many time to them and what they do is simply amazing. Anthony. looking forward to seeing your interview. Also. I will try and be out there for it so I may be able to talk to him in person.
Com on Bob. Get him a walk on role.

Carry on, Ensign Sean of Hillsboro.

#4

Great idea regarding the walk-on roll. He would love that and I am sure it would be something he would always remember.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has chapters for the Mid-Atlantic area as well as others, is a wonderful organization. I had a personal experience with them — and support them every year through CFC. They really do everything they can to make the wishes of very sick children, especially those with little chance of survival, come true — in spectacular fashion. I wonder if TrekMovie could contact Creation and see if there is a way to provide Sean with a special VIP pass — that way not only would he get front-of-the-line for autographs and photo ops, but he would also be able to meet actors backstage. That would really be something for this young Trekkie!!!!!

Congratulations for the initiative, guys! … it was great! … :-) :-)

So happy for him…I work for tescos supermarket chain in Ireland and last years charity was make a wish and it’s a brilliant charity and worth every cent people send in

Watch out for those Klingons Sean!

Phasers on stun!

Creation better give this kid the red carpet treatment.

Keep on Trekkin’, young Sean!

Great news for this kid, God bless you Sean. I hope you have fun at the CON and we will see you there!

Very touching. This should be a wonderful time for him and the family!

Congratulations, Sean. I hope you have a wonderful time.

You know, there should be an organization that helps deserving Trek fans of all ages make it to these conventions. That would be an awesome charity project.

I hope he has a very good time at the convention. =D

Congratulations to Sean!! I love the Make a Wish foundation- :)

Make-a-Wish is great. My wives cousins ten year old son has been fighting leukemia for the last 18 months and the sent his entire family to Disney World this summer.

Phil – that is wonderful. I think Make-a-Wish may be an international charity organisation because we have it here as well. Children have been able to go to Australia to see the Warners Bros theme park and other cool places for kids.

#16 You have a nice idea here.
I’ve been mulling over various ideas re all this stuff about many wanting William Shatner in the next movie etc. One idea I had is that if he does hold out for a lot of money in order to just do a cameo (if he is open to that – honestly, I do not think his appearance should be anything more than a cameo), that he could perhaps donate the money to a charity such as the one you described. Obviously, the charity would need to be properly thought through, eg making it available for both US/Canadian citizens and overseas citizens, hows and whats and whens etc. How it would work, well…I am sure there are those with the appropriate experience who could do this.

The other option is for the fans to choose a charity. Perhaps Anthony Pascale could run various polls to whittle down which charity (or perhaps most preferred two charities) would receive the donation.

These are just musings on my part. I don’t know how practical it would be and of course, ultimately, it would be up to William Shatner. However, I do believe that he is a generous man and would want to contribute to something that the majority of people deemed worthwhile.

hope to see him there!!!

I hope young Sean has fun there-too bad he didnt git to go when the experience was there–the trek museum n awesome cast like April would have made sure he had an out of this world time–the one year i was able to afford to go will be one of my cherished memories 4ever–hope its the same for him-luv make a wish n all they do–cant wait for more details- thanx to anthony for following up n keeping us all informed-

#19 As much as I love William Shatner, I cannot see him doing a cameo role unless it was made a BIG DEAL that it was for charity. (Though my dream is to get a picture of my mom and me on either side of him in suits whispering ‘Denny Crane’ in his ears. LOL)

AFAIK, the majority of the charities that function like Make-A-Wish but for adults closed down one by one as the economy took a downturn. I adore MAW for what they do, but I think there are a lot of adults out there with dreams, too. =)

I also think the Trek fan community on its own is generous enough to get such a charity off the ground – and charities generally start out small, anyway. I just wouldn’t have the first clue about how to go about starting it up. Well, maybe the first, just not the second. LOL

I love stories like this, testimonials to simple human decency whether the participants have a shared love for an old TV space opera or not. I saw something similar happen on the set of Phase II’s “Origins,” where a young man with autism was given the opportunity to assume the center seat in a scene put together by the staff just for him. With all of the angst of that production it was a joy to witness such a thing, and it will remain my fondest memory of the experience.

#10 nuqneH’
I will be looking for him

Come Bob put this young man in the next Movie :)

OUTSTANDING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah get him in the movie :) HE can be a lil alien of some sort. I know a certain Vulcan that will be attending the Convention who will be looking to meet him.

Anthony – I’ll be attending this year. If there is anything me and my little gang of friends can do to “add” to this young man’s experience – please contact us and let us know! I’d love to find out if he as a “favorite character” or ship…

Terilynn

I can’t tell you how great it was to be there for this! (I took the photos in the article.) I’m glad you all want to get him a cameo and meet up with him in Las Vegas! It makes me happy that more than just Make A Wish will be looking out for him and making sure he has a good time. (:

I’m one of the wishgranters for Make A Wish and I really appreciate all of your comments! Brock, my partner, and I have had a great time with this wish. Here’s an ask: Sean will be in costume at the convention, but we will ask him to wear the bright blue Make a Wish button while he’s there. If you see him, say hello. Maybe offer him cuts in your line for photos. Maybe tell him about your favorite booth. Sean also has Aspergers, so he can be a little brusque, but is amazingly knowledgeable and has the vocabulary of a college graduate. He’s a lot of fun to talk to!

Thanks for making his time at the convention SUPER special!

Robin