Liphook teenager joins Make-A-Wish UK's campaign to grant 100 wishes
Sophie Stubbenhagen, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy, was granted her wish of having a gaming PC by the charity
Liphook teenager, Sophie Stubbenhagen, has joined gamers for 'Wish 100 Week', a campaign launched by Make-A-Wish UK® to grant 100 wishes to seriously ill children.
Sophie lives with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that makes muscles weaker.
She was granted her wish to have a gaming PC by the charity, before undergoing spinal surgery.
Now, she says she wants to help other children receive their wishes.
Sophie says gaming has given her a boost since her surgery:
"It's helped quite a lot. I was able to play it before and now I have something to look forward to, now I've had it done. I can watch TV on it when I'm lying in bed and I can play my games when I'm able to sit up again.
"It's kind of like an escape from everything and I can do stuff that I can't in real life. I like a lot of lifestyle games like Sims where you can build your own life and do all these different things"
"If you have a problem in the day you can just put your headphones on and go into a different world really, and just escape from everything and just live a different life".
'Wish 100 Week'
Sophie says she has got involved in Make-A-Wish's new campaign because "it was a chance to help other people that need this if they are ill, just to help them boost their positive energy and let them have something that they really enjoy. Because I think it's great having something that I enjoy".
'Wish 100 Week' launched on 19th July and brings together gaming brands and streamers in the challenge to raise £200,000 through live streams and donations.
Sophie says she's supporting the campaign because it is aiming grant 100 wishes to children "to help their life be what they really want it to be and have something that they really want".
Make-A-Wish UK say it is an urgent campaign drive after hundreds of wishes were put on hold during the pandemic.
The charity says they have seen a fourfold increase in demand for technology and game-related wishes in the past four years.
They are one of the wishes the charity has been able to grant during lockdown. But they say they’ve also gained popularity because they aid wellbeing.