Discussion could focus on several issues:
Text: Press cutting about The Make a Wish Foundation allowing a boy Ness to shoot a kodiak bear.
Discussion
1. Initial reactions to the story; disgust, questions raised.
Where does MAWF get its justification?Should there be limits to the wishes it grants?
Would the civil law offer sufficient limits?
How effective are grey areas, moral revulsion, "politically correct" limits, socially incorrect wishes, unwritten laws as sanctions over them?
2. Which is more serious: shooting common or rare animals?
Is shooting a few out of a population of say antelopes more serious than shooting the same number of big animals out of smaller populations? e.g., kodiak bears? pregnant bears? becoming-extinct creatures?
3. Is animal behaviour a guide to human behaviour?
For animals, killing is simple survival, for us it becomes a sport.Humans know what they do so awareness and hopefully responsibility too is implied.
What are the criteria for suitable human behaviour?
"Civilised" behaviour norms change. Different cultures, different criteria.
4. Costs of social rejection resulting from say cannibalism.
Adolescent social pressures/ adolescent male fashion dictates behaviour.Costs of doing differently. Costs in rejecting these social norms.
Certain school cultures that enforce conformity e.g., rugby culture
Must Survival come only in conforming within them?
What is the place of personal growth and individual choice?
Anecdotes of freedoms in overseas societies & other Australian States.
Local experiences of categorisations and blind thinking.
Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
785 Market Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 543-7066
Fax: (415) 543-7022
The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded as a nonprofit organization
in 1980 in response to the wish of a young terminally ill boy who
wanted to be a policeman. Officers of the Arizona Department of
public Safety granted Chris Greicius his wish with a custom-made
uniform , a helmet, a badge, his own set of tickets, and a helicopter
ride. That one child's special delight in having his wish come true
provided the impetus for the creation of a national organization
which has incorporated with 80 Chapters throughout the United States
and a number of foreign affiliates.
The Greater Bay Area Chapter was formed in January of 1984 by a small
group of concerned citizens in South County. Over 1,000 wishes later
children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses are having
wishes fulfilled by the Greater Bay Area Chapter and its five field
offices: Alameda/Contra Costa/Solano, San Francisco, Santa Clara,
North Bay, and Monterey.
The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is to ensure that wishes
are granted to children between the ages of 21/2 and 18 years of age
with terminal illnesses or life-threatening medical conditions
creating the probability that they will not survive beyond their l8th
year. In an attempt to provide a brief respite from the corridors of
hospitals and clinics, medications and treatments, emotional fatigue
and medical expenses, the Make-A-Wish Foundation provides children
and their families with what is hoped to be a carefree experience in
a world that previously existed in dreams only.
In fulfilling wishes, the Foundation emphasizes the wholeness of the
family by assuring that the family members participate in the wish.
All expenses are funded by Make-A-Wish Foundation, including ground
and air travel, meals, photos, hotel accommodations, etc. The Greater
Bay Area Make-A-Wish Chapter serves the counties of Alameda, Contra
Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Marin, Monterey,
San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Solano,
Sonoma, and Santa Clara.
Wish referrals and requests are made by parents, relatives,
friends, social workers, physicians, hospital service agencies, and a
host of other sources. Initial contact is either made by telephone or
letter. Program staff obtain the needed data to determine wish
eligibility with partents and attending physician; then a team is
assigned to conduct an on-site visitation with the child and
parent(s) or grandparent(s).
Paperwork is completed and submitted to the Board of Directors for
action. After approval, a wish is planned and carried out by the Wish
Coordinator. The entire process can take from a few days to several
months.
The Greater Bay Area Chapter and its Field Offices are governed by
a Board of up to twenty elected Directors and five Field Officers.
Meetings are held monthly and are open to the public.
The chapter consists mainly of volunteers, including Field Oficers
and Board of Directors.
The Greater Bay Area chapter is funded entirely by the general
public, including service groups, corporations, and private
individuals. In addition, goods and services are contributed.
Giving opportunities include immediate gifts such as cash, in-kind
resources, securities or real estate; and deferred gifts such as
bequests, life insurance, or charitable trusts. Gifts to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation are tax deductible as provided by law. Of
every dollar donated or raised, an average of 83% is appropriated to
wish granting, 9% is directed to administration and 8% goes toward
fund-raising costs.
Vehicles for fund-raising include special events, memorial and
tribute gifts, corporate solicitation, and an annual giving
campaign.
Make-A-Wish has only four requirements before a wish can be
granted: 1) the child must be between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18 ; 2)
the child's physician has diagnosed the child's illness as
life-threatening; 3) the child has not received a wish from another
wish-granting organization; and 4) the child is a U.S. citizen or in
the U.S. legally.
Make-A-Wish is exceedingly generous when fulfilling dreams. The
Foundation arranges all the details, then steps back and lets the
family enjoy some magical moments. We believe that lives are measured
by memories and not years.
The majority of wishes fall into four general categories :
Wishes are only limited by a child's imagination. Make-A-Wish provides the structure, but it is the child's request that determines what Make-A-Wish will do. The Foundation will try to grant any wish, however, there are exceptions. These include but are not limited to the following, no homes, no motorized vehicles, and no firearms.
TO REMIT A CONTRIBUTION OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE WRITE
OR CALL:
Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
785 Market Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 543-7066
Fax: (415) 543-7022