Saturday, December 9th 2023, 6:54 pm
“The floats are being arranged, getting in order, there’s all sorts of stuff, the balloons are being filled with helium,” said Kevin Burr with a Soldier's Wish.
All for the 97th annual Tulsa Christmas Parade.
The non-profit A Soldier’s Wish, is hoping to spread joy beyond the parade.
“We’ve helped veterans fix their houses, roof leaks, windows,” Burr said.
It provides resources directly to veterans or active-duty service members, in other words, it grants them a “wish.”
The group has granted one wish at the parade for the past 10 years, but Burr said they have something new in store.
“This year’s a little special because we’re actually gonna be granting two wishes versus the one,” he said.
Before the start of the parade, members of the non-profit gathered in front of the VIP tent, and then it was wish-granting time.
Broken Arrow mayor and Executive Director of a Soldier's Wish Debra Wimpee announced the recipients.
“The first wish, we wanna grant.. Natasha? Natasha, can you come up here, please? We wanna give you $1,500 in Walmart gift cards for food or Christmas gifts or whatever it is you want,” Wimpee announced.
And the second wish went to a Vietnam veteran.
“We heard you have a few windows that needed to be replaced, we’re gonna take care of those windows for you, sir,” Wimpee announced.
Natasha and Victor Rohr, the recipients of the first wish, are both veterans of the 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa.
This is their family’s first time attending the parade. Little did they know it would likely be their most memorable.
“We just thought that we were getting invited to the party today,” said Natasha.
They say they’re usually the first to help others, but it's nice to know the community has their back.
“This just really means a lot, that as we take care of other people, we’re getting taken care of too,” she said.
Natasha says she wants to use their wish to make their kids' Christmas wishes come true.
“I’m sure these kids are going to have a lot of fun on Christmas morning, for sure,” she said.
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