Annual benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation set for July 15

When Carrie Almond was 15, she was hospitalized for cancer of the lymph nodes.

The Bishop teen was devastated and fighting for her life at the same time.

She told members of the Carson-Douglas-Fallon-Lyon-Tahoe Board of Realtors that she just wanted to be normal.

When asked what wish she would have granted, the sick girl said she wanted to attend the gymnastics competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Tickets were hard to come by. Almond waited for more than a year to find out, just two days before the competition, that she was going to Atlanta.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was one of the reasons that the teen from California got to witness the final vault of an injured Kerri Strug, which won the gold medal for the United States.

Watching Kerri and with visits from the people who made her wish possible, Almond found the strength to fight her cancer and is now attending a Christian college in Irvine, Calif.

Almond told the Realtors that Make-A-Wish isn't just for terminally ill children.

"It is for children with disabilitating diseases, curable and incurable, not necesssarily terminal," she said. "Make-A-Wish gives hope and a chance for a child to dream a dream and in my case find inspiration to fight and win."

The Realtors' annual benefit for Make-A-Wish will be July 15.

An "Evening of Wine and Roses" features 20 restaurants and more than 30 wineries.

In addition to the wine tasting and restaurant sampling, the event includes a silent auction and a raffle.

A wish typically costs about $4,200 to fulfill. Eighty-six percent of the money raised by efforts like the "Evening of Wine and Roses" goes to fulfilling wishes for children in Northern Nevada.

To purchase tickets or for further information, call the Board of Realtors at 885-7200.

IF YOU GO

What: An Evening of Wine and Roses

Where: Riverbend Grille at Genoa Lakes Golf Course

When: 6 p.m. July 15

For information or tickets: Call 885-7200