Taylor-Made Wishes

F AIRFAX, Nov 14, 2008 — If Care Bears could fight, there would have been some purple and pink stuffed animal fur flying in the Moeller household last night.

Nine-year-old Alicia, the daughter of Dee Moeller, collects the stuffed animals.

She stacks a group of them at the foot of her bed. Every night, one lucky bear gets to sleep at the head of the bed with her.

On Thursday, Alicia was given three more Care Bears to add to her collection of 64. She was not sure which of the two larger bears she would curl up with later.

The gifts to Alicia and her siblings were the first wishes granted by the Washington-Taylor Three Wish Club, run by Cedar Rapids Washington High School students. They were delivered by Hannah Wheeler, Spencer Micka and Kestrel Henry, all 16.

The Washington students hope to bring joy into the lives of the roughly 250 students who used to attend Taylor Elementary School.

It flooded and did not open this year.

The older students have asked the children to submit small, medium and large wishes. They want to grant at least one wish per child with the community’s help.

Alicia’s sister, Maddison, 11, received a pair of Heelys — shoes that roll. Her brother, Lance, 6, was given a Ben 10 Alien Creation Chamber.

A what?

Lance explained: “These aliens, you put them in there and they light up and you can see ‘em.” He’ll return to Taylor next year.

The Moeller children had open-enrolled into the Cedar Rapids school district.

Maddison attends Prairie Middle School this year, and the two younger children attend Harrison Elementary.

The club is the brainchild of Wheeler and her dad, Ben Wheeler. Five students consistently attend its meetings. Nearly 200 children have submitted applications with wishes, said Henry, the club’s treasurer.

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