Eagle Valley High School raises over $36,000 for Make-a-Wish Colorado
Annual fundraiser rallied community around Marlee Emore, a 4-year-old living with cystic fibrosis
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
With chants of “we believe in Marlee’s wish” echoing through the gym at Eagle Valley High School, students and faculty celebrated the end of the school’s seventh annual Wish Week on Wednesday.
Over the past seven days, Eagle Valley hosted numerous events — from pickleball and volleyball tournaments to movie nights and more — all to raise funds for Make-a-Wish Colorado.
This year’s Wish Week celebrated Marlee Emore, a 4-year-old from Silverthorne who is living with cystic fibrosis, and whose wish is to take a trip with her family to Walt Disney World in Florida.
Marlee and her family joined the Eagle Valley students, faculty and community members as they celebrated the week’s end with a closing assembly on Wednesday afternoon.
“Just think how special this day is and why we’re here … What we want to do is make this Marlee’s perfect day, her perfect memory. So everything you’re doing today is for her,” said Eagle Valley High School Principal Tom LaFramboise. “Have fun, enjoy it (and) remember the why; Marlee is our why.”
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The assembly was complete with competitions — everything from which class could chat the loudest to upside-down soccer and musical chairs to Marlee’s favorite songs. During the week 10 Eagle Valley teachers made bets on how much the school would raise; and on Wednesday, the nine losing teachers got a pie to the face.
A community effort
In total, the Eagle Valley Wish Week raised $36,126 for Make-a-Wish — enough to grant around five wishes for Colorado children who are living with a critical illness. Eagle Valley raised $2,200 during the first minute of the fundraising — what students called a “Miracle Minute” — at the opening assembly last Wednesday. The total for this year was just over $5,000 more than it raised in 2023.
It’s a fundraising effort that includes the entire school district and Eagle County community.
On Wednesday, students from Red Hill and Brush Creek elementary schools joined the high school students as the two highest fundraisers. A class of Red Hill third graders donated 80 pounds of spare change to the cause (the most of any class across the district), contributing to the total $6,000 the elementary school raised for Wish Week. Brush Creek Elementary raised the second most, contributing $5,360.
Eagle Valley High School is one of 200 schools across the state that support Make-a-Wish Colorado with Wish Weeks. One in three wishes for Colorado kids is funded through school fundraisers, according to Sarah Grosh, the director of community development with Make-a-Wish Colorado.
‘She just thought it was the best day ever’
Marlee was born with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening illness that affects the lungs and digestive system. And while Marlee’s mother, Stacey Emore, said the 4-year-old was feeling a little shy at the opening assembly last week, this week she was “more outgoing and her smile was utterly beaming.”
“When the balloons fell on her she smiled a smile I had never seen before. She just thought it was the best day ever,” Emore said.
Amid daily treatments, precautions and considerations, Marlee doesn’t let it hold her back from snowmobiling, go-karting, dirt biking, skiing, horseback riding and more. Emore described Marlee as charismatic, inspirational, strong and resilient.
The family decided to participate in Eagle Valley’s Wish Week to make her whole wish experience as special as it could be, Emore said. Wednesday’s assembly was full of nods to some of Marlee’s favorite things, including “Frozen,” “Tangled” and Barbie.
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“This meant the absolute world to us. Our family has never experienced anything as special as this,” Emore said.
“To walk out into a crowded room and hear your daughter’s name being shouted and see everyone in their Marlee shirts, and know that everything your daughter goes through and the battles she faces every day, this is what gives her hope and this is what gives her that reminder of how truly special she is and how truly special our world is.”
Most of all, Emore said she and her family were so impressed with the students who organized Wish Week.
“These students rallied behind a little girl they didn’t know and they changed her whole life. It’s truly the most amazing feeling we have in our hearts right now. And we’ll never be able to thank those students and staff enough for changing our lives and bringing us so much hope and happiness,” she said.
