Karen’s wonderful world of making wishes come true

The $10,000 Westfield Local Heroes grant has contributed to 689 children's wishes, but in particular 3 local community wishes from the Canberra volunteer branch. This money directly helped fund the following wish journeys:
• A 15 year old females wish to meet her idol John Cena at WWE
• A 7 year old females wish to save the dugongs
• A 13 year old males wish to meet his idol Lee Kernaghan

Karen Keunen has helped make 131 wishes come true.

For 17 years she has volunteered for the Make-A-Wish Canberra branch, which brings joy to children with life-threatening illnesses.

“It’s just wonderful to do something nice for them,” she says.

“The prospect of a wish often helps them get through their treatment and at the end it’s like a reward for all of the hardship.”

Karen spends countless hours getting to know each child to help them plan their wish.

Her dedication also involves working on fundraising events and volunteer recruitment.

Thanks to the community spirit she helps ignite, dozens of people helped a young girl fulfil her dream to be a princess — complete with a carriage ride to a special afternoon tea.

While every child has touched Karen’s heart, a recent wish stands out.

For six months a little girl had lots of ideas for a wish but couldn’t pin it down.

She finally called Karen and asked her to come over as she’d decided her wish was to have a puppy of her own.

Make-A-Wish sourced the exact breed and colour she wanted and had the dog flown to Canberra.

“It was just an absolute delight,” says Karen.

“We went to the front door and the love of this little girl for her puppy was something I will never forget.”

“I don’t think there was a dry eye — it was love at first sight.”

Karen says she is proud to be voted a Westfield Local Hero. “It’s really good to see that people are aware of who we are and that they support us.”

For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here.