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Gavino’s Wish Story

Gavino, 4, McMinnville
Wish: to have a play structure

On a hot summer day in McMinnville, volunteers from UnitedHealthcare and the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oregon devoted hours of their time and energy to make Gavino’s heartfelt wish for a play structure come true. This special 4-year-old left for the day and returned to find the hangout of his dreams in the backyard!

When Gavino’s play structure was unveiled for the first time, his smile spread from ear to ear. He immediately began running up and around the structure and continuously soared down his new slide for the rest of the afternoon. One of his favorite features was the rope and bucket pulley.

Several of Gavino’s relatives, friends and volunteers helped celebrate the wish-come-true. The volunteers took a break from their busy day of building to enjoy a pizza party and cake with all of the guests.

This outside space will be a special spot for Gavino to play and to escape the trials of his life-threatening medical condition, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Gavino and his family will be able to enjoy his play structure for years to come and will always be reminded that wishes really do come true.

Gavino’s wish was generously adopted by UnitedHealthcare, which is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. UHC seeks to improve the health and quality of life of communities it serves through employee involvement, business contributions, financial support for the United Health Foundation, and responsible environmental practices.

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