Jul 29, 2009 4:59 pm US/Eastern
Brotherly Love: Jersey-Based Website Grants Wishes
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS 3) ―
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Out of national tragedies comes greatness. A South Jersey man felt he had to do something after witnessing 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. So he created a program that can change a life, one wish at a time.
CBS
Out of national tragedies comes greatness. A South Jersey man felt he had to do something after witnessing 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. So he created a program that can change a life, one wish at a time.
In the middle of summer, there's nothing like a Little League game. But there's a problem on this ball field, where Whitman Park Little League plays.
Once night begins to fall, the game is called because there are no lights on the field. That's a major blow to players like Zuri Filmore.
"We had to stop, and we had to play another game tomorrow," Filmore said.
And tomorrow, the same thing: Night falls, stop the game. The city of Camden can't afford to replace the lights. These kids just wish they could finish their games.
That's what David Girgenti does: He makes wishes come true.
"I remember thinking if you could just wish for anything and have this mechanism that would help grant wishes," said Girgenti.
Girgenti created
Wish Upon a Hero after Hurricane Katrina. It's a website that grants wishes for all sorts of things: a new wheelchair, help paying a mortgage or lights for a ball field.
A woman saw the wish on the website and put things in motion.
"She called companies across the country saying, 'We need light bulbs for the field,' and we got a Venture Systems in Ohio saying, 'Yeah, we got lots of light bulbs,'" said Girgenti.
They got the bulbs. Then someone contacted Karim Purdie from Apex Electrical Services, a company that installs light bulbs.
"So it was an opportunity that we can help these kids," said Purdie. "I was a kid myself, you know, playing in the field playing baseball, and we wanted to help them."
The 42 bulbs and the installation cost $6500. But through Wish Upon a Hero, it's all free. The baseball organizer says they can now finish their games.
"We had to cancel a lot of games. It was a relief but also a blessing for the kids, that they could finish their games and we don't have to stop them," said Desmond Newbill, general manager of Whitman Park Little League.
"The impossible becomes possible on Wish Upon a Hero," said Girgenti.
"Anything is possible, and people are empowered."
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We're always looking for people like David Girgenti doing great things—
nominate someone for us to feature on Brotherly Love!
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