SACRAMENTO, CA, March 07, 2010
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Voyage Home Loans and Angelwish worked together to coordinate an essay contest as part of their Giving Spree event, where a group of interested Sacramento area children were asked to write, "the perfect day for you and a sick friend. What would you do? Where would you go?" The winner of the Angelwish and Voyage Giving Spree Essay Contest is Aiden Sacco, 8, of Newcastle, Calif.
"I couldn't believe I won," said Aiden Sacco. "I was jumping up and down and I thought for sure I wouldn't even make it into the top four, I thought I'd be seventh. I was totally surprised to be the winner."
Aiden, and about 20 Sacramento children, will shop at 8 am on Saturday, March 6, and spend $3,200 at the G. Willikers Toy Emporium in Old Town Sacramento, for gifts to donate to Angelwish children who are living with HIV/AIDS. Aiden says he is really excited to go shopping, and is looking forward to picking out board games, electronics, and is on the look out for a Wii Game Console. Aiden, and two friends, Hannah Fryer and Natalie Fardos, who also entered the essay contest, will join Aiden, Angelwish and Voyage Home Loans on Fox 40's morning show Friday, with reporter Bethany Crouch previewing what is in store for Saturday's event at G. Willikers Toy Emporium.
The judging panel read through all the contestant's essays and narrowed the choices to three finalists Aiden Sacco, Nonie Lei Reyes Small, Hannah Fryer and Natalie Fardos. They chose Aiden's essay, based on the sincerity of what he would do for a sick friend. In Aiden's essay, he writes, "I would miss school, miss baseball practice, I would even miss cub scouts for that one person. I would miss everything! I would give so much care that person might not die!!!"
"The judges chose Aiden's essay as the winner based on the fact that his was really selfless," said Ryan Lucia, Business Development Manager of Voyage Home Loans. "There were some really great essays, but the judges really felt that his focused on making the day all about his sick friend and what they wanted."
FOX 40 Live Reporter Bethany Crouch and several players from the Sac City Rollers participated as judges in the contest, including Purdy Girl, Rosie GiveittoHer, Trippin' Billie, Pity da Foo, London Britches, and Passion Bye-Ya.
"The "perfect day" imagined by the children were in turn heartwarming, moving and funny," said judge Melissa "Purdy Girl" Witherow. "The winning essay to me though, truly captured the altruistic nature of the Angelwish and Voyage Giving Spree - the selfless giving of yourself for another. I was thoroughly honored to be a part of this contest and am thankful for the opportunity to work with Angelwish and Voyage; their mission and service is inspirational."
Voyage employees said they were inspired by Angelwish's mission to give children living with HIV/AIDS and their families the opportunity to celebrate their childhood and they are excited to be part of such a great cause. The event was made possible through the generous contributions of Voyage employees, whose donations were matched by the company.
About Voyage Home Loans
Voyage Home Loans strives to offer the best loan services available, while working hard to make a difference in local and national communities and the environment through community and charity outreach. Last year, the company was honored to receive an A+ Employees' Choice Award, from the Sacramento Business Journal, in the small business category. This year, the company hopes to increase its participation, involvement and partnerships with various non-profits, not-for-profits, and individual causes to at least four events a month throughout 2010.
http://www.voyagehomeloans.com/
About Angelwish
Angelwish, a nonprofit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of children with HIV/AIDS, plays a vital role in allowing children to experience childhood. Founded in 1999, Angelwish works with more than 130 HIV/AIDS care centers around the world and harnesses the power of online donations to provide gifts to children. In doing so, Angelwish makes it efficient and effective for a donor to help a child and their family in need. Unlike other methods of donating, 100% of an individual donation made to Angelwish goes directly to the child with HIV or AIDS waiting for a gift.
http://www.angelwish.org/
About Voyage Home Loans
Voyage Home Loans is a progressive mortgage company committed to providing honest and reliable service. We are an organization that cares deeply for the welfare of our clients, employees, community and environment. We take the time to thoroughly educate our clients on the loan process, while ensuring we do everything possible to make our client's biggest investment a source of joy for many years to come.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com# # #
Read more Press Releases from Katrina Silberstein:
