BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow high schoolers surprised an elementary school student with his wish on Friday after spending the school year raising money for Make-A-Wish Oklahoma.
"Today we had our reveal," explained Faith David, a senior at Broken Arrow and the student council's service officer. "Our philanthropy week is called Smile Week. It's where we raise money for Make-A-Wish Oklahoma and so on that last day, the Friday which is today, we had our Make-A-Wish kid come out to our school. We decorated a huge hallway with all his favorite things and he got to walk down. Then he met us at the library and over there it was all of our leadership kids just cheering him on as he walked in."
The high schoolers granted the wish of elementary student Dax who wished for a trip to Disney World.
David said it was an honor to be able to grant Dax's wish.
"His wish was to go to Disney World and we had the absolute honor of celebrating that and I mean, it was just the sweetest moment ever. He's been to a couple of events this past year, so we really got to get to know him as well as his family. It was just so amazing getting to tell him that he's going to Disney World and us being the ones to grant his wish and it's just an incredible experience."
Dax's father Jeremy Jackson said the reveal was a truly special moment.
"As a BA alum, it made me very proud to come here and see how much they've embraced the Make-A-Wish program. They've put so much into it and it was very awesome to see everybody was cheering for Dax. He loved it. The whole family enjoyed it. It's just really, really cool."
After everything Dax has been through, Jackson said it means everything to see him reach a moment where he's being celebrated.
"Dax has been through so much starting from day one: born a little bit early, really small and [he's been] through three different heart surgeries, multiple different other procedures. To be able to get to this point to where he's being celebrated and everybody is doing well and doing healthy has been a remarkable feat for him. So I think moving forward we'll just keep this with us."
David said all the hard work it took to get to this moment was worth it.
"This was my first year getting involved and being able to be a part of something like this and leading it has been the most incredible experience ever. It gets stressful at times, but knowing who we're doing this for and the meaning behind it makes it so worth it, every single second worth it."
Ultimately, Jackson said it was amazing to see this community of students come together for Dax.
"It's impressive to see kids these days. You hear a lot of bad stuff about different things going on in the world and it's so super encouraging to see this group of kids really take this on and really take it to heart and be a blessing in our lives and I can't wait to see what they do moving forward and see who else they get to bless."
