Wish Week

Wish Week was an incredible success! This year, the MVHS community raised over $200,000 for Make-A-Wish, with final numbers coming soon. Thanks to this generosity, our community was able to grant Anita’s wish by purchasing her family a camper, allowing her to return to doing what she loves most—camping with her family. In addition to Anita’s wish, MVHS will be able to help grant many more wishes for children in Colorado with life-threatening illnesses, bringing hope and joy to families across the state.

This year, MVHS broke its own fundraising record and will continue to hold the national high school record for Make-A-Wish fundraising. Even more impressively, over the past 10 years, MVHS has raised more than $2 million. In Colorado, MVHS has raised more for Make-A-Wish than any other organization or individual donor. We are incredibly proud of our students, staff, and community for their generosity and support.

There is still one final fundraiser to participate in! Our 6th Grade Leadership Team is hosting Candy Grams to help wrap up Wish Week.

Candy Grams!
Send a Candy Gram to your child for Valentine’s Day while supporting Make-A-Wish! Students can also send Candy Grams to friends or staff members.

• $1 per Candy Gram

• $5 for 6 Candy Grams

Simply cut out and complete the Candy Gram form(s) and send the correct amount of money with your child to drop off at the Candy Gram table between January 29 and February 12. Please include who the Candy Gram is for, who it is from, and the teacher’s class for delivery.

🎉 6th Grade Leaders will deliver all Candy Grams on Valentine’s Day!
All proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish.
Forms and money are due by Thursday, February 12.

Thank you for helping us continue this amazing tradition of giving!

Anita is 5 years old and has been battling the struggles of Leukemia, a type of blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow. Anita has the kindest, most intentional heart. She is filled with giggles and has the biggest, brightest smile. She loves to play with her dolls and pretend! Anita and her family speak fluent Italian, and even make their own homemade pasta! Before her diagnosis, camping had been something Anita, mom, and dad had loved to do as a family, but they had to sell their camper. Anita’s wish is to have a brand new camper, so her family can continue camping and creating memories!! We need your help to spread the magic of Wish Week to our community and to grant as many wishes as possible for children like Anita!
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💙 Wish Week Monday | Jan. 26

Kick off MVHS Make-A-Wish Wish Week by wearning last year’s Be A Good Person shirt! 🍔 Support Wish Week by eating at Shake Shack (10am–10pm) or Gelato & Co (4–9pm) — just mention Vista so proceeds go toward Wish Week!

💙 Wish Week Tuesday | Jan. 27

It’s Camp Colorado Day! ⛰️
Wear your Colorado gear, jerseys, or red/white/blue!
🍪 Grab a treat at Twisted Sugar (9am–9pm) or enjoy a meal at Nicolo’s (11am–9pm) — and don’t forget to mention Vista to support Wish Week!

💙 Wish Week Wednesday | Jan. 28

Adventure awaits on Camp Wilderness Explores Day! 🌲
Dress in outdoor gear like hiking, camping, fishing, camo, or rafting vibes.
🍗🥣🍪 Support Wish Week by dining at Raising Cane’s, Playa Bowls, Lazy Dog, or Crumbl (8am–10pm) — bonus: free drink for every 20th person at Crumbl!
📢 Be sure to mention Vista when you order!

💙 Wish Week Thursday | Jan. 29

Cozy up for Camp Snooze Day 😴
Come to school in your PJs and keep the Wish Week spirit strong!
🥤🍔 Eat out at Nekter (8am–6pm), Old Chicago, or Red Robin (11am–10pm) and mention Vista so proceeds support Wish Week!

💙 Wish Week Friday | Jan. 30

Finish strong with Camp Anita Day! ☀️
Dress like a camp counselor — Wish Week shirt, summer camp gear, name tags, bandanas, and more!
🍔 End the week at Freddy’s (11:30am–9pm, Town Center) where 50% of proceeds go

Orders for shirts or slides must be placed by this Thursday, January 11th!

Dear Families,

Every year Heritage participates in a special Make-A-Wish fundraiser, the Mountain Vista High School Wish Week.

This fundraiser is especially meaningful to me because just this past year, my son Kaden received his wish through Make-A-Wish. His biggest dream was to meet Mickey Mouse at Walt Disney World — and Make-A-Wish made that dream come true.

Watching Kaden experience that joy was something I will never forget. After everything he has been through medically, seeing him smile, laugh, and live fully in the moment was an incredible gift. And it wasn’t just magical for him — it was life-changing for our whole family.

Make-A-Wish gave us something we can never replace: time together without hospitals, fear of pain, or endless appointments. Time to simply be a family. The memories we made are ones we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Because we personally experienced the power of a wish this year, I am especially grateful that our school community is helping bring that same hope, joy, and strength to other children and their families who are still waiting for their wishes.

If your family chooses to donate, please know that every single dollar makes a difference. And if now isn’t the right time to contribute, that is absolutely okay — there is no pressure. Your support, kindness, and enthusiasm for our class and school already mean so much.

Thank you for helping us spread joy and create life-changing moments for families who need them.

Warmly,

Lisa Livesay

Wish Week is the time of the year where the entire Mountain Vista High School community comes together to raise as much money as possible for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Make-a-Wish Foundation helps families with a child suffering from a life-threatening illness by granting their wish. This could be meeting a celebrity, going on a vacation, etc. MVHS adopts one Wish Kid each year to rally around and fulfill their wish. Wish Week is about something bigger than all of us, serving others who are less fortunate. In 2016 our third Wish Kid, Marlee, changed the purpose and the energy of Wish Week forever. Her final wish in her lifetime was to give teddy bears to other hospital patients instead of taking a trip, or meeting a celebrity like most kids choose. This sweet girl inspired us and ignited a fuel in us that we could make the world a better place by putting our efforts into this foundation. She unfortunately passed away in 2019, but we honor her legacy by helping as many people as we can annually with Wish Week. To learn more about Marlee, view this message from Marlee’s father.

In the last eight years the MVHS community has raised well over 1 million dollars! Over the course of 9 years, the Mountain Vista community has granted over 160 wishes!! In 2025 MVHS community raised over $225,000 and granted over 30 wishes.

Here is a recap of last year’s Wish Week.

Mountain Vista High School holds the national fundraising record set in 2025 of $225,000. They have held the record nationally for the last nine years. This year we hope to break our past record and support the amazing work done by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. With your help, we know we can do it!

A critical component of Wish Week is fundraising. There are several ways you can help contribute toward MVHS Wish Week. Fundraising for 2026 has already begun!

One way MVHS raises money is through selling Wish Week Shirts to students and parents at the high school, middle school, and elementary schools. Mountain Vista sells t-shirts created in partnership with the Be A Good Person brand - these shirts are a huge hit in our community and we often wear the previous years’ shirts during Wish Week and on other spirit days at Heritage. The proceeds from shirt sales directly support Vista’s fundraising efforts, and fosters some friendly competition between the elementary schools to see which school sells the most! Last year Heritage families purchased 300 shirts!

This is a wonderful opportunity for all the schools in our feeder area, and the community at large, to come together in support of Mountain Vista’s Wish kid and the Make A Wish Foundation!

Another important fundraiser for MVHS is restaurant nights. All elementary families are invited to participate in Restaurant nights. Check back as it gets closer to Wish Week.

In addition to the Mountain Vista Fundraisers, our sixth graders also run several fundraisers throughout the school year to support Wish Week. Last year our Heritage 6th graders raised $3,000! The Wish Week leadership team manages the fundraisers, and they have already been hard at work.

Student Leadership Fundraisers for 2025-2026:

Stuffy Day - Bring your favorite Stuffy to school

BOO Pops - Send Ghost Pops

North Pole - Donate money to send your teacher to the North Pole!

Candy Grams - Coming in February!

Aside from raising money for Make A Wish, another important component is rallying support around our Wish Kid.

One way we do this as a MVHS feeder community is by Spirit Dress Days. It is truly inspiring to go to the grocery store, restaurant, or anywhere in Highlands Ranch and see everyone dressed in the spirit day color or theme. The schedule will be sent out in the Thursday Blast and will be posted here when it becomes available.

While most of the Wish Week Spirit Activities are geared toward high school students, there are some that all in the community are invited to participate in. The full schedule will be posted here when it becomes available.

One popular event for our students is the Heritage Wish Week Feeder Wish Fest (FKA Community Fair). This is a chance for your students to get to go inside Mountain Vista and see firsth how the school has been transformed to help grant each wish. The Wish Week Feeder Wish Fest will take place at Mountain Vista on January 29th from 5 to 7 pm.. There will be pizza, a spaghetti dinner, carnival games, and much more! Buy your tickets now!

Another popular activity is the Mountain Vista Wish Week Vista Idol Contest, which takes place Monday, January 26th at 6:30 pm at Mission Hills Church (620 Southpark Dr, Littleton, CO 80120). This event is similar to American Idol—students perform, judges provide feedback immediately, and the audience votes! Pre-order your tickets now!