Wildkits Fulfill 5-Year-Old Heart Patient's Wish: A New Puppy

Submitted by ETHS Sports Information.

Five-year-old Bobby Grunsted’s biggest wish was for a companion dog to help him cope with a life-threatening illness.

Thanks to the efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation --- and student-athletes at Evanston Township High School --- the Evanston youngster has a new buddy named Raz.

Bobby and Raz were special guests and were introduced prior to the start of the Evanston-Maine South varsity basketball game Friday night at Beardsley Gym. The ETHS community helped raise more than $1,000 selling T-shirts as part of the Make-A-Wish/More Than Me partnership effort to support Bobby, who has a congenital heart anomaly.

Bobby is among the nearly 1,200 children who are diagnosed with life-threatening conditions each year in Illinois. The More Than Me program was created to help athletes see what is truly important, and the impact they can have on their own communities. Teams have used this program as a motivator for their current seasons, and Grunsted had his picture taken with the entire varsity basketball team and coaching staff prior to the contest.

“Wish Granter” Brad Schnitzer, who oversees the program locally, said he was grateful for ETHS’ participation in the project.

“Teams at Warren and Lake Zurich are also involved in local fund-raising, and I think having Evanston involved helped because they saw that having a big school like Evanston involved meant they could do it, too,” Schnitzer said.

Schnitzer said he’s currently seeking Evanston businesses out to match the funds raised by the student-athletes with the T-shirt sales. Fund-raising was also conducted on Facebook and Twitter as Evanstonians spread the word to try to aid Grunsted.

Businesses wishing to take part in the project can learn more at www.facebook.com/MTMMoreThan Me --- twitter.com/MTMovement --- or on the website www.studentsectiontees.com. Or they can contact Schnitzer directly at bradschnitzer35@gmail.com.