Raising money for Make-A-Wish with Wheels, Wings & Wishes!
How It All Started...
Back in the fall of 2014, while working at Glassworks, a classic Corvette restoration shop, I found a deal on a 1980 Corvette that I couldn't pass up. I have a friend that has a few classic and collector cars that wanted to see it because he also had a Corvette at one time. But with winter closing in, our schedules never gave us time to meet up for him to check it out.
In the spring of 2015, I posted on Facebook that Big Shot Bob's had moved up to my #1 favorite wing place. This is where an argument between friends started. Instead of arguing back and forth, we decided maybe it would be a good idea to meet at one spot and bring our show cars and an order of our favorite wings for each other to try. We decided to hold our get together at Settlers Cabin Park in Robison Township in mid July, 2015.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, I contacted Make-A-Wish and asked them if they would be interested in sponsoring us and any money we made would be donated to them. They said absolutely and even said they could send a couple wish kids to spend the day with us at the event. I informed my friends of my secret phone call and they all were on board with my idea.
We decided that we were going to give these kids an experience at a car show they never thought possible. Any show car at this event had an open door policy, which meant they could take a ride in any of them! What happened that day was truly magical. Smiles from ear to ear, full bellies of delicious wings, a parking lot full of new and classic cars and $3,300 raised for Make-A-Wish! After the event we realized that we created something that was going to be bigger than anything any of us has ever done.
-Bryan Benson
“When you see those kids smiling, it makes every bit of hard work worth it.”
What We Achieved
The first year, Wheels, Wings & Wishes raised $3,300 for Make-A-Wish through donations and an auction; in 2016, the event raised $10,000 for the organization that grants wishes for children diagnosed with a critical illnesses. In 2017 we completely smashed our previous years by raising $13,600 to personally grant three wishes to area wish kids! 2018 brought us a new venue and the ability to adjust our event to be more family-oriented. We raised an amazing $28,400 which helped grant wishes to 6 very special children. In 2019 we shattered every expectation by raising $39,600 and granting 9 wishes! 2020 was the year of no event because of the pandemic, but we still tried to do what we could to raise money. Together we raised $22,000! We got back to a bit of normalcy in 2021 and rolled out our event and raised $35,200 to grant 8 wishes! 2022 started out with rain, but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits and raised $26,400 to grant 6 wishes. No rain in the forecast for 2023 meant everyone showed up early. We set our new record by raising $40,000 and granting 8 wishes! In 9 years we have raised a total of $218,500 and granted 47 wishes for Make-A-Wish! In 2024 we have the chance to hit 2 milestones at once, granting 50 wishes and raising a quarter of a million dollars. So mark your calendars and come out for one of Pittsburgh’s best car shows. See you in June!!
About Our Event
All proceeds go to Make-A-Wish to help grant "wishes" for children with critical illnesses.