Hamilton College, Make-A-Wish Present “Star Studded” Gift to 14-Year-Old

Hamilton College and the Make-A-Wish Central New York will fulfill a wish for a 14-year-old child, Matthew, on for Friday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the college’s C.H.F. Peters Astronomical Observatory located on Peters Lane. Matthew will be presented with a 12-inch Dobsonian telescope.  The program will begin with comments by Make-A-Wish’s CEO Diane Kuppermann followed by Observatory Director Adam Lark.

At approximately 8 p.m., Lark will offer a tour of the observatory, showing attendees all of the telescopes including the one to be given to Matthew. The surprise “gift reveal,” the presentation of the telescope to Matthew, will be the final highlight of the tour as Lark and members of the Hamilton men’s hockey team present it to Matthew.  Lark and Matthew will then spend some time stargazing, checking out the sky, and playing with his new telescope.

Lark led the planning and orchestration of fulfilling this wish which began solely as a visit to the observatory and expanded under Lark’s direction.

The Hamilton men’s hockey team raised $6,000 to add to Make-A-Wish’s contribution toward the telescope for Matthew, and the players will be recognized for their efforts during the program. The team’s initiatives were headed by players Cameron Miranda and Jackson Krock who are also leaders of Hamilton’s Wishmakers Club.

As stated on their website, the mission of Make-A-Wish is this, “Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”