Volunteer

Debbie Dragone has helped grant the wishes of 31 special children, including the South Florida chapter’s 7,000th wish.

Since February 2003, Debbie Dragone has been a Wish Granter. In 2005, she received the Rising Star Award and she continues to shine, helping to grant the wildest fantasies of 31 special children. She was also a Wish Granter for 8-year-old Victoria’s wish to record her own CD, the 7,000th wish in our chapter’s history.

Debbie began volunteering because she wanted to give back to the community in a way that benefited children. To her the best part of wish granting is seeing a child’s face light up when they discover their greatest wish. She loves when people in the community rally behind a wish, asking how they can help. Debbie considers it an honor to be the one to deliver a wish. After all a wish family has gone through, the joy on their faces is “just out of control.”

One day, a long-haired Chihuahua seemed to be waiting for Debbie outside a 4-year-old wish child’s home. Debbie scooped her up and after having no luck in finding the owner, she took the dog home with her. Named Belle (after the child who wished to meet “The Beauty and the Beast” character), the dog now comes along for wish child visits whenever it is approved by the parents.

Married for 20 years to her best friend Ernie, Debbie works as a learning consultant for IBM assisting companies with training solutions. At one time, she aspired to be a librarian but she abandoned that dream because she “talks too much.” Originally from the Bronx, her love of the New York Yankees is reflected in her choice of pet names - Alex, Jeter and C.C were all named after her favorite players.

If she could make a wish, Debbie would wish to be Rizzo in “Grease” to relive her favorite memory from college – when she starred as Rizzo, made the local paper and got approached by “Star Search.”