WASHINGTON CITY — In partnership with Make-A-Wish Utah, the Red Cliffs Chartway Credit Union granted 11-year-old Noah Colson’s wish to go on a Disney Cruise with his family this next spring. The wish was announced during the credit union’s grand reopening event held last week.
Noah’s father, Spencer Colson, told St. George News he convinced Noah to get in the car with the family because they were going out to get involved in the community. The plan worked, he said, at least until Noah saw Make-A-Wish branding outside the branch from the car, which likely tipped him off.
Noah has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a disease that can cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. Noah’s older sister, Ellen Colson, also has the condition.
“Our kids obviously have some physical limitations, but they are mentally super strong,” Colson said. “They want to engage in a high level of social interaction, but with their physical limitations, it’s difficult for them to be able to.”
That’s why Colson said this partnership with Make-A-Wish is so special.
“We will be able to get an experience that we wouldn’t know how to make happen on our own,” Colson said. “He’ll get to see things that you would never be able to see, engage in those that you wouldn’t be able to see. Honestly, Make-A-Wish does what we could never do ourselves.”
Their voyage is set for sometime next spring and made possible by Chartway’s charitable arm, the Chartway Promise Foundation. It alone has granted almost 500 wishes, including a trip to Disney for Noah’s sister six years ago.
“You just cannot replicate the experience,” Anne Colson, Noah’s mother, said. “The Make-A-Wish program goes out of its way to give them this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
She said while it’s much more difficult for him to do things than the typical child, he doesn’t give up and works hard at everything he does, whether it be physical therapy or school.
During Thursday’s event, which was standing-room-only and packed with professionals and community members, Daniel Dudley, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish Utah, said someone with those characteristics deserves a wish. He then unrolled what appeared to be a scroll and read that Noah’s wish had been granted.
“It’s through the support of Southern Utah partners that we’re able to grant Southern Utah wishes,” Dudley said, adding that their wish-granting rate has nearly doubled in the last few years alone.
Nick Whiting, vice president of Chartway, said events like these make the local community unique.
“We absolutely love being in the St. George area,” he said. “We’ve been here for a long period of time and are committed to helping the members of our community here in St. George thrive.”
Whiting said part of the reason for remodeling the credit union was to create a more consultative and member-oriented environment, ensuring they stayed current with their members’ evolving financial needs.
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