flo.rankin@gaflnews.com



TIFTON – Letters circulating in the Tifton area concerning a terminally ill child and his dying wish to set a record are part of a hoax, an official of the Make-A-Wish Foundation said Thursday.

“You’d be amazed at the number of calls we get about them,” said Make-A-Wish South Georgia Regional Director Diane Gilliam. “These letters have gone all over the world. It’s been going on for 12 years now and nobody at Make-A-Wish has been able to stop it.”

The chain letters say that 7-year-old “Craig Sheppard” is trying for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest collection of business cards for an individual. It asks recipients to send one business card per company to an Atlanta address, supposedly that of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and instructs them to retype the letter on their company’s letterhead and send it to 20 other companies.

In 1989, then 9-year-old Craig Shergold wanted to be named in the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the largest number of greeting cards. Another organization, not the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helped him fulfill his wish in 1990. Shergold, now a healthy college student, has since asked for the mail to stop and any that is received goes to a recycling center.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation gives details about the hoax on its website, www.wish.org. A copy of the local letter mailed to the Gazette appeared to be have been circulated in Fitzgerald, Douglas and Eastman before making its way here.

Gilliam said someone may be using the letters to build a data base of local businesses, since they ask for cards to be sent to an address that is not the foundation’s. Anyone who receives a letter is asked to contact the sender and inform him or her that the Make-A-Wish Foundation does not participate in these kinds of wishes. Refer the sender and all recipients to the website, and do not forward the letter.

Most people who forward the chain letters want to help the children served by the foundation, according to the website. Ways to do that include referring children for a wish, making donations or serving as a volunteer. For more information, check the website or contact the South Georgia office in Macon at (478) 755-8450.



To contact city editor Florence Rankin, call 382-4321, ext. 209.