Humbled that his children were healthy, Jim was a board member of the Make A Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina for 8+ years.
He has continued to be an active fundraiser and Wish granter for this chapter, helping to secure many wishes in-kind, fearlessly asking vendors for donations of items or contributions. Since 2011 Jim has done a project called “Profit with a Purpose” with his classes at UNC’s Business school.
Working in teams of two-three students come up with a product or service to sell. The profits generated are then donated to charity. In 2019, his two classes generated $130,000 in profits in four weeks, and in 2021, despite the pandemic his students generated $110,000 in profits to be donated. All told, over $1,250,000 has been generated and donated, with Make A Wish being the largest recipient.
While Jim has helped to grant dozens of Wishes, below are just some of the proudest and most fulfilling:
Katherine
Katherine’s dream was to meet the UNC basketball team, head coach and her hero… Tyler Hansbrough. With the help of my good friend Brian Lubitz and an incredible supporting staff we made this a truly magical Wish!
Brandon
With the help of John Inman, head coach of the UNC Golf team, we threw Brandon a great pre-Disney party. Brandon, an avid golfer and Tar Heel fan, hit balls with several members of the men’s golf team and challenged them to an intense “closest to the hole” putting competition (Brandon won!).
Krista
Krista’s dream was to see the Circus and with the help of the 4th grade class at Rashkis Elementary, we made this Adopt-A-Wish come true. Krista took a limo from her home to the RBC Center in Raleigh and got great seats to this exciting event! Please contact Jim if you are interested in granting a Wish like this for a child.
Nathan
Nathan LOVES golf. His one true Wish was to get some new golf clubs and to play golf at a great course. With the help of John Inman, head golf coach at UNC, and the Wakefield TPC Club, we arranged for Nathan to get a new set of Titleist clubs and a one-year membership at TPC! It was an emotional day for everyone when we granted this Wish. His family, friends and the local media were there to celebrate Nathan’s big day.
Michael
Michael’s wish was to go to Wimbledon, the “Cadillac of all tennis tournaments.” Michael plays on the James B. Hunt school tennis team, and was interested in seeing Wimbledon in person.
Michael’s favorite pastimes are listening to music, playing computer games, and you guessed it…playing and watching tennis! Daniel, Michael’s older brother, played tennis in high school and taught Michael everything that he knows about the game.
With the help of my dear friend Bill Smith in Burlington, NC and Stan Smith in England, Michael and his family were able to go to Wimbledon, meet several tennis celebrities and enjoy a tour of Great Britain.
