Pandemic quashed Plum girl's dream trip, so Make-A-Wish built her backyard pool, firefighters filled it - TribLIVE

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Call Haley Delo pool happy. The Plum youth who suffers from a severe form of epilepsy was one of the rare beneficiaries of Make-A-Wish Foundation at a time when many wishes don’t come true.

The covid-19 pandemic has complicated everything in life, even delivering wishes to critically ill children.

Since the pandemic, Make-A-Wish has canceled more than 70 fundraisers, resulting in a loss of roughly $750,000 in donations, according to Dana Antkowiak, a spokeswoman for the Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation.

But on Saturday, those problems and the pandemic, mercifully, seemed far away.

Initially, Haley, 6, requested a Florida vacation with a scavenger hunt, but that couldn’t be arranged during the pandemic. However, the nonprofit gave Haley the next best thing: a scavenger hunt with a new swimming pool that sprang up overnight at her Plum home, said Kris Pearson, a Make-A-Wish volunteer.

“Like all wishes and Wish Kids, it’s important to allow them to have a day for themselves to get what they don’t think they can get,” she said.

Haley’s wish came together “quickly and last minute with everyone involved doing above and beyond,” Pearson said.

Saturday’s scavenger hunt took Haley, Make-A-Wish volunteers and her mother, Victoria Delo, to locations around Plum.

Organizers had fun directing Haley to find more clues at different Plum sites: “An adventure to take you must not hesitate. Follow the clues to see what awaits!”

Stops included Larry Mills Park, Our Lady of Joy church, Shop ’n Save and others.

The day before the scavenger hunt, on Friday, Haley’s dad, Nathan Delo, of Apollo, kept his daughter away from her home as pool installers arrived to set up the 18-foot-diameter and 54-inch-high pool, followed by the Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department filling it with water.

After Haley followed her final clue home mid-afternoon Saturday, she and her mom took the inaugural swim.

“Personally, it’s amazing this is happening,” said Nathan, who put together the pool steps, watching his daughter swim.

The pool was the perfect surprise for Haley, her father said.

“I keep telling her she’s a fish,” he said. “She’ll be in there whether it’s a pool or a puddle.”

Haley and her mother swam in the pool together with Haley continuously diving in and out of the water.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Victoria Delo said. “Everything the community has done has been unbelievable.”

To make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit its website: greaterpawv.wish.org/donate

Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-226-4691, mthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Plum Advance Leader | Top Stories | Valley News Dispatch

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Pandemic quashed Plum girl's dream trip, so Make-A-Wish built her backyard pool, firefighters filled it - TribLIVE

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