Thomas is hiking to raise money for Make-A-Wish

Maggie Thomas, 28, a 2013 graduate of Flomaton High School is taking a different journey to help raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that provides a wonderful experience for children who suffer from critical illnesses.

After graduating from Flomaton, Thomas attended Troy University where she received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She switched minors and received a minor in American Sign Language and then entered the Interpreter Training Program and got a bachelor's degree in interpreting ASL. She currently lives in Prattville as a contract interpreter helping children with hearing and sight issues.

She said when she decided to make ASL her minor, she didn't realize how rewarding it could be working with children and adults who were deaf.

"My daddy first insisted that I minor in Spanish," Thomas said of her going to Troy University. "I took a class in interpreting and first thought I couldn't do this, but I fell in love with it."

She said working with children with disabilities has been very rewarding and she now wants to help even more by participating in a 26.3 mile hike on the Pinhoti Trail in the Talladega National Forest, scheduled for April 19-20.

She is now trying to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and recently attended a meeting of the Flomaton Research Club to talk about the program and was given a $100 donation.

She said her goal was to try and raise $2,500 before the hike, and said all money would go straight to the Make-A-Wish Alabama Foundation, noting that it costs about $10,000 to grant a wish for a person who is critically ill.

She also noted all donations are tax deductible.

She said she read about the Trailblaze challenge for Make-A-Wish and decided it was a great cause.

"I have a lot of free time in the afternoons and I love to hike," Thomas said. "I wanted to do something positive for not only myself, but others."

She said her attention focused on the Make-A-Wish Foundation after Bryant Cooper was diagnosed with cancer in October, 2014. Cooper died 25 months later at the age of 19. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Bryant, his mother Janet Cooper, his father Marion and brother Austin were able to go to Hawaii.

Janet said Make-A-Wish was a Godsend for Bryant and the entire family.

"It was huge," Janet said. "One of Austin's childhood friends and a good friend of Bryant's (Brett Hanks) was in the Air Force stationed in Hawaii. Bryant wanted to see him one last time."

Janet said the Make-A-Wish Foundation paid for the entire trip and the Air Force let Hanks take time off to spend with the Cooper family.

Janet said Hanks became their personal tour guide and took them to places in Hawaii they would have never found on their own.

"It's a great program," Janet said of Make-A-Wish. "They do make wishes come true for people who know they don't have much longer to live."

Thomas has been training with short hikes in various areas getting her body ready for the 26.3 mile hike and spends most weekends and afternoons on a hiking trail with other people who have signed up for the Trailblazechallenge.

This past weekend she was hired to wear an Easter Bunny suit at the Cottontails Festival at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center with all her proceeds going into her Make-A-Wish account.

"I've met a lot of people on these other hikes and have made a lot of friends," she said. "It's kind of cool that I can enjoy what I'm doing by hiking and helping raise money for Make-A-Wish."

Thomas said she currently has about 30 percent of her $2,500 goal.

Donations for Thomas' Make-A-Wish Foundation journey can be made online by going to the Make-A-Wish web page and donating to the 2024 Trailblaze Challenge – Oxford, Ala., under Maggie Thomas, with her identification code as 9928565.

Checks, made out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, can be mailed directly to Thomas at 1320 Fairview Ave., Apartment 102, Prattville, Ala. 36066.

For more information, Thomas can be reached at (251) 236-0777.