Make-A-Wish worker's holiday letters make an impact - WCAX

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NEWPORT, Vt. (WCAX) - Nonprofits and charities have taken a hit during the pandemic. Scott Fleishman traveled to Orleans County to meet one woman who has spent the better part of two decades raising money for Make-a-Wish Vermont. She’s never needed a big event to send her message, just a piece of paper and a pen.

Judy Moulton is working on her annual holiday letters. “The theme of this letter is that it’s a different year, but for us, it’s a good year,” she said. Her husband Ronald, is in remission from stage 3 cancer. The letter also mentions other family members, members of her Make-A-Wish family. For more than 20 years, Moulton has helped kids in the Northeast Kingdom get their wishes granted. “Every kid that’s medically eligible, gets a wish, and I love that,” she said.

Moulton is one of the nonprofit’s biggest fundraisers, using those very holiday letters. She writes about the children she’s met through Make-a-Wish, and the impact wishes have on them. Like when one of her wish kids, Bennett, was named an honorary Vermont State Trooper, or when Chloe met then-President Barack Obama. “I do the fun part -- which is revealing the wish to them, to look in their little faces and tell them their wish has come true. And yeah, that’s very rewarding,” Moulton said.

When she started her letter-writing campaign, they were sent only to friends and family. Today, they go out to all corners of the community. Her mailing list is up to 100 recipients. She says about 90 percent of those people are so inspired by her words and the included pictures, they end up donating to Make-a-Wish Vermont. “It takes courage to be a wish granter at times. So, when things are... I’ll get out my sponsors and I’ll just look at them. And it helps me to know that they believe in me and they care about the kids,” she said.

This fall, an anonymous donor contacted Make-a-Wish Vermont. They had heard about Moulton’s letters and fundraising efforts. They issued a challenge: If she could raise $10,000 by the end of the year, the donor would double it. “It’s just too much for words. It seems overwhelming to me, but I didn’t do it alone,” Moulton said.

“Judy, when she hears about something, she gets really determined,” said Bryn Jenness, who along with fellow North Country Union High School first-year student, Kaeleb Berthiaume, is helping Mouton raise money. They call themselves the Northeast Kingdom Fun-raisers. Both have been working with Moulton ever since she spoke to their 7th-grade class.

“She goes above and beyond for anybody. She makes it such a fun experience, it doesn’t feel like work, you have such a great time working with her,” Berthiaume said.

Once the anonymous donor made the challenge, the fun-raisers stepped up their game, putting together a drive-in movie event and going business to business selling baked treats. “This is her community. She’s the main wish granter and so we were all helping her out by helping her reach the goal of $10,000,” Jenness said.

Not only did Moulton and her assistants raise the $10K, they surpassed it. “When Judy called me that night, I just sat there in shock. I knew with everybody’s determination and hard work, we could pull this off, but to actually hear that it happened, was just so fulfilling,” Berthiaume said.

“I don’t like to be in the public eye, or that I’ve done a lot, you know? I’m happy to do that. I’m honored to be able to help these families and serve these families that so desperately need it,” Moulton said.

One woman’s commitment to a cause and an area so filled with generosity, it makes you want to write home about it.

People asked Moulton how she could keep helping Make-A-Wish while caring for her husband during his cancer battle. She says she borrowed strength and courage from the Make-a-Wish kids she’s helped over the years.

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Make-A-Wish worker's holiday letters make an impact - WCAX

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