The Wishwall works to collect inspirational wishes and grant the wishes of those with specific problems.
Marlton residents will now have a permanent place for their hopes and dreams at the Evesham Library.
On Dec. 10, residents gathered at the Evesham Library to open a new “Wishwall” where visitors were encouraged to write their personal wishes on small notes to be displayed on a permanent installation for all to see.
Wishwalls are the signature creation of the Wishwall Foundation, a charity that began about a year and a half ago leading up to the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia.
At that time, the Wishwall Foundation constructed a freestanding wall in the city, similar to the installation at the Evesham Library, where visitors posted inspirational wishes along with more personal requests for help relating to specific issues in their lives.
With those personal wishes in hand, the Wishwall Foundation then attempted to make a difference by granting wishes where it could.
It was those efforts that first caught the eye of Marlton resident Mary Beth Iannarella, who founded the Marlton chapter of Girl Talk, the national peer mentoring group for teenage girls.
Girl Talk Marlton eventually reached out the Wishwall Foundation, and together the two groups were able to make a Wishwall in Evesham a reality.
“This was my wish, to have this wall come here,” Iannarella said. “This is awesome. Just for people to show up, that’s my wish come true.”
Also at the opening of Evesham’s Wishwall was Simonetta Lein, Italian fashion icon turned activist and founder of the the Wishwall Foundation.
Lein told the crowd that when she first moved to America from her native Italy a year-and-a-half ago, she had no idea something such as the Wishwall Foundation and the work it does would be part of her life.
Lein thanked Iannarella and Girl Talk Marlton for believing in her and believing in the Wishwall Foundation.
“Really, to have amazing, meaningful wishes that we can really try to help as much as we can — this is very very important to me and I really want to thank you,” Lein said.
In addition to the wishes of the township’s residents, Evesham’s Wishwall will forever hold another connection to the township, as those gathered for the opening dedicated the wall in the memory of late Marlton native and singer Christina Grimmie, who passed away in June from gunshot wounds inflicted in an attack following a concert Florida.
Kailey Gaffney, a Girl Talk Marlton youth leader and senior at Cherokee High School, spoke to the crowd about being inspired by Grimmie’s music and her strong faith in God.
Gaffney recalled meeting Grimmie and her family during a performance in March and the impact the experience had on her life.
“When I was watching Christina perform, I remember thinking ‘that’s my hero on that stage.’ She helped me through so much, and she didn’t even know it,” Gaffney said.
Marcus Grimmie, Christina’s brother, was one of those on hand at the ceremony to help cut the ribbon for the Wishwall in front of the cheering crowd.
