"Children will know at first sight that it is build for them, unlike the hospitals and treatment centers in which they have spent so much time," says Tom Weatherall, president and CEO of the non-profit foundation of New Jersey. "It would not be possible without the unprecedented generosity of its many major donors."
The final cost is said to be in the $3-million to $4-million range, with much of that covered by a $2 million donation by Joseph Plumeri, chairman and CEO of insurance broker Willis Group, and his wife Nancy. It's said to be the largest individual donation ever received by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the facility will be named the Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place in honor of the donor's parents.
The 14-acre site on which the facility will rise along Route 33, or Perrineville Road, is also a donation, received from developer Jack Morris, CEO of the Piscataway, NJ-based Edgewood Properties. Morris and business partner Joseph Marino are also donating their services to build the facility, and the design is the result of the volunteer efforts of several design consultants, according to Make-A-Wish officials.
The building will be the only one of its kind on the East Coast, say foundation officials, and one of only three in the US for the group. It will include a variety of functions, including staff offices and a training facility and development center, a multi-purpose room family facilities and a Wishing Area.
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