For years, The Fairygodmother Foundation has made the dreams of terminally ill adults come true. For example, the organization helped David—a father from Georgia diagnosed with lung cancer—take his family on a vacation to Yellowstone National Park before passing away.
Now, the organization is actually looking for a grandmother ( who needn't be female ) who will be chosen at its fourth annual gala, which will be on May 5 at the ultra-exclusive club known as The Casino, 195 E. Delaware. Windy City Times talked with CEO Stevie Ball—who gamely describes herself as a 'behind-the-scenes broad'—about the foundation and its search for someone who has a 'dedication to sprinkling fairy dust.'
Windy City Times: Tell me about the foundation.
Stevie Ball: We've been in Chicago for almost eight years. We've granted over 700 wishes in 47 states.
WCT: How is it that so many other places have heard of you and you're relatively unknown in Chicago?
SB: I really think that there's this underground group of people in the medical world. I think doctors talk with other doctors about their dying patients and end-of-life caregivers share that information. We also have a terrific relationship with the American Cancer Society and they refer a lot of people to us.
We're working on changing that. Our plan is to get the word out so that the demographic isn't so slanted with cancer patients. There's been a significant amount of people who have of HIV and AIDS, for example. The HIV/AIDS field is an important one to me. When I worked at Chicago House, there were people there who could've used a fairy godmother.
WCT: How do you decide whose wishes to grant?
SB: The best thing about our foundation is that we don't have a lot of rules. Our guidelines are that the person receiving the wish must be at least 18 and have a diagnosis of a year or less to live. Any travel wishes must be within the 48 contiguous states. Also, the person receiving the wish must be alert enough to know what's going on.
WCT: The theme for this year's gala is 'Finding Fairy Godmother.' Tell me more about that.
SB: We decided that we needed a face for our foundation. We need a sprightly, big-hearted soul who will be our fairy godmother for the next year. That person will make four to six appearances.
At the gala, there'll be four candidates. A celebrity panel will interview the candidates. Then, the winner will receive official Fairy Godmother cloak and the Wand of Wishes.
WCT: OK, I have to ask this: Does the fairy godmother have to be biologically female?
SB: The person would have to be comfortable in drag—and I think that [ a drag queen ] would be the ultimate fairy godmother!
Applications for the honorary position can be downloaded from the Web site www.fairygodmother.org or by calling ( 773 ) 388-1160, ext. 20. The application deadline is midnight on April 15 and the top four candidates will be notified no later than April 25.
