Anyone who thinks that young people have no interest in or respect for their elders hasn’t met athlete Jeremy Bloom — or the 562 friends who attended the annual fundraiser for his Wish of a Lifetime Foundation.
Bloom is committed to bringing joy to the lives of senior citizens by granting wishes that have ranged from the simple — a throw rug — to the sublime — a trip to Germany that will enable a Colorado woman coping with the effects of a closed-head injury to reunite with a longtime friend.
“Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest differences,” Bloom said at A Midsummer Night’s Wish, a dinner, auction and dance held July 16 at the Seawell Grand Ballroom.
Bloom was a football All-
American when he attended the University of Colorado at Boulder; he also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bloom also was an outstanding skier, winning 11 World Cup gold medals in freestyle moguls and competing twice in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. Ski Team.
He started the Jeremy Bloom Wish of a Lifetime Foundation in 2008, and the number of wishes granted has grown from 11 wishes to 400.
Extreme skier Chris Anthony, pro snowboarder Jesse Csincsak , gymnast Alicia Sacramone and Denver Broncos Ryan Harris and Brady Quinn were at the gala, joining a crowd that also included Caz Matthews and Dr. Dean Prina, who were hosts to a group that included Rose Community Foundation vice presidents Elsa Holguin and Therese Ellery; Jeff Ellery; Ed Lucero; Suzanne Calhoun; Gary Mobell and Patricia Barela Rivera.
Read more about who was there and how much money was raised in my Seen First blog: blogs.denverpost.com/davidson .
See additional pictures from the Jeremy Bloom Wish of a Lifetime Gala at denverpost.com/seengallery.
