The Londonderry Cheerleaders, ECE cheerleaders, and the Blue Lions wait in the airport for Make-a-Wish-recipient Alia to arrive. The cheerleaders made signs, so Alia’s send-off to Disney World would be filled with fun and cheers.
When three-year-old Alia,who has a very rare form of cancer called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, arrived at the airport last month, a crowd of Blue Lion, East Celebrity Elite Cheer and LHS cheerleaders were waiting for her as part her send-off for her Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World.
The Make-a-Wish program helps grant the wishes of kids with life-threatening diseases, and Alia’s wish was to go to Disney World with her family. To make the day even more special, two police cars escorted the van that brought Alia and her family to the airport.
Mike Gibeault, the person who sets up the Make A Wish send offs, initially set up the event with Colleen Czekanski, a junior varsity cheer mom, who later passed on the information to LHS varsity coach, Chelsea Dennis.
“It was such a great surprise to see all the people in high school helping out and being there for her and her family because when I was in high school we didn’t have events like this,” Gibeault said. “When I see younger people helping out with such a great cause, it means the world.”
When Alia arrived, the cheerleaders were waiting for her with signs they had made for Alia. Some of the signs had Disney-themed pictures on them and others said “Have a great trip” on them. The girls who didn’t have signs stood with pom poms and cheered as Alia walked through. Alia’s mom had a huge smile and a couple tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked into the airport.
LHS varsity captain Cassie Stuart was very excited to have the team get involved with the community.
“It was a great experience to see this little girl’s dream come true,” Stuart said. “It felt great being able to cheer her on as she left for her dream trip to Disney.”
Another cheerleader junior Katie Host, also felt very honored to be invited to such a great event.
“It made me feel honored to cheer on such a beautiful little girl,” Host said. “It warmed my heart to see her smile when she saw all the supporters there. There was so much love in one room all for this young girl who was having her wish granted to go to Disney, I’m so glad I could be there.”
Dennis was very happy that her team was able to go and show their support.
“It’s something that doesn’t take much of our time and it will make such a huge difference in her life. It teaches the girls not to take the little things in life for granted too,” Dennis said. “Make-a-Wish is such a great program, and I’m glad the girls could be part of such an amazing event.”
Make-a-Wish recipient Alia and her mom arrive at the airport to find signs and cheers from cheerleaders of all ages as part of their send-off to Disney World.
