By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Nik’s Wish will help three young adults battling cancer fulfill a lifelong dream thanks to the Rockford Subaru dealership.
Napleton Subaru, 505 N. Perryville Road, presented a $17,000 donation to the nonprofit organization on Monday. The money was raised during the annual Subaru Share the Love campaign in which $250 for every new car purchased from Nov. 18 to Jan. 3 went to a charity of the buyer’s choice.
The charities were the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels, the National Park Foundation and Nik’s Wish, which was Napleton’s hometown charity of choice this year.
Related: $6K donation to help Nik’s Wish do ‘amazing things’ for young adult cancer patient
The money came at a key time for Nik’s Wish, which helps 18- to 24-year-olds who have aged out of the Make-A-Wish program live out a wide range of requests, from adventurous vacations to meeting celebrities and more. Kelli Ritschel Boehle, who founded the nonprofit, said they have 48 wishes in the pipeline right now and not all are funded.
“We really need wish funding now, so this comes at an absolute precious time for us to help these young adults and families,” she said. “This is a total blessing for these families. They really need something during this tough, tough fight.”
This is the second time Nik’s Wish received a donation from the Subaru Share the Love event. Combined, the events total about $35,000 raised. It costs roughly $6,000 to grant each wish.
“It feels great to know that we’re going to make three (wishes) happen,” said John Tifft, sales manager at Napleton Subaru. “This charity is just caring to the Nth degree.”
The nonprofit was founded in honor of Nikolas Ritschel, who died from a rare type of cancer in 2012 at the age of 21. The night before his death he asked his mother, Ritschel Boehle, to help make wishes come true for other young adults like him who faced terminal cancer.
“Every single time I deliver (a wish) I can feel a smile from heaven from Nik saying, ‘OK mom, there’s one more down,'” Boehle said.
The organization has granted hundreds of wishes across the region and the country since the nonprofit was founded about 10 years ago.
Napleton Subaru says donations from this coming year’s Share the Love sales event will go toward Rock House Kids, which helps mentor and support inner-city Rockford children after school hours.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.