Erik Ness, 1979-2000

Eight years ago, I joined thousands of Americans who wrote checks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of Erik Ness. He was the young man with brain cancer whose wish was to hunt a brown bear in Alaska with his dad. The terminally ill teen’s wish was met with a national furor. Heartless animal rights activists pounced on the family and pressured the Make-A-Wish group to stop the hunt.

Erik endured death threats, ridicule from P.C. editorial boards, and harassment at the airport on the way to the trip of his dreams. He didn’t get a bear, but went on a subsequent, successful trip co-sponsored by the Safari Club. Erik died two months after that hunt.

A few years later, Make-A-Wish’s national HQ announced it would exclude any child’s wish involving “firearms, hunting bows or other hunting or sport-shooting equipment.” The group’s CEO, Paula Van Ness, made a bogus argument that the policy change was based on “safety” considerations rather than a “value judgment.” As I pointed out at the time,

Yet, Van Ness acknowledged that “accident statistics show fewer youngsters are hurt in hunting and sport shooting each year than in activities as common as high school sports.”

The foundation’s timid policy change is not just a “value judgment,” but also a slap in the face to Erik’s memory, to hunters, and to other sick children and their families who participate in doctor-approved, lawfully bound sporting activities. The charity may have preserved its political viability with corporate and left-wing donors. But by shooting down dreams, Make-A-Wish has shot itself in the foot.

Now, there is a new, sad, but not surprising development. The Associated Press reports today on a split between Erik’s local Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter and the national HQ that stemmed from its overzealous anti-hunting, anti-gun policies, among other disagreements:

The board of directors and the advisory board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota resigned en masse today, citing a dispute with the national organization over local autonomy.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and its local chapters grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. Typical wishes can include trips to Disneyland, family reunions or chances to meet celebrities.

Karla Blomberg, who had been president and co-founder of the Minnesota chapter, said tensions had been growing for years and came to a head at a weekend meeting, when the 13 directors and 10 advisory board members decided the differences were irreconcilable.

“This has been so painful and so difficult,” Blomberg said. “It’s been a major part of my life for 22 years and it’s been a big part of the lives of all the 20-some people who submitted their resignations today.”

… Blomberg said tension between the Minnesota and national organizations started in 1996, when the local chapter granted a terminally ill teenager’s wish for a bear-hunting trip to Alaska. The national organization eventually prohibited local chapters from granting wishes involving hunting.

“Hunting and fishing is part of Minnesota, whether you choose to hunt or not. … They don’t understand this state,” said Tom Reid, another co-founder, former NHL player, and Minnesota Wild radio analyst…

Fortunately for un-P.C. families with children who dream of going on the hunt of their lives before succumbing to terminal illnesses, there are alternatives. An undaunted mother, Tina Pattison, founded Hunt of a Lifetime after Make-A-Wish refused to grant a moose-hunting wish to her son, Matt, who died of Hodgkin’s disease.

Inspired by Erik and Matt’s stories? You can donate here or here to give other young hunters and fishers the thrill of their too-short lives.

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