Mariah Wright You can't put a price on smiles like these! Mariah Wright is going to Disney World with her cousin Briana Goud thanks to the generosity of the family of PFC Andrew Small and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Monday was definitely not just another day at school for Mariah Wright, a 12-year-old seventh grader at the Wiscasset Middle School, who is fighting cancer. She was surprised with a "wish proclamation" party to tell her that her greatest wish, to go to Disney World, had been granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine.

Mariah was welcomed into the school cafeteria by her family, seventh grade classmates and her favorite teacher (according to her dad) Warren Cossette, who was magically turned into a wizard for the afternoon festivities.

What made this gift even more special was the choice by the family of the late PFC Andrew Small to provide the money for Mariah's wish, in tribute to their son. PFC Small died in Afghanistan at the age of 19 on August 11. Terry and Cindy Small, his parents, decided that money that had been donated in their son's name should be used to fulfill a child's wish.

"Andrew loved to go to Disney World," said Mrs. Small. "We first took him when he was five years old and last visited the December before he entered the service."

She still remembers the day that his aunt told him about the Make-A-Wish foundation. "He thought it was cool that this was being done. We thought that it would be something that would make him very happy."

Mariah's wish will come true in March when she, her parents, little brother Joshua, age five, and her cousin, Briana Goud, will fly to Orlando to meet Mickey and company. Her parents, Bruce and Cindy Wright of Edgecomb, may have already had their greatest wish granted, because Mariah's health has been improving.

"She has gone through surgeries and has completed her cancer treatments and she is doing great," her father, Bruce said.

"I told Mariah right from day one that we would beat this," her mom said.

Mariah's principal, Linda Bleile, was also Andrew's principal and his mother's teacher at the school before she became principal.

Hosting the party were two Wish Grantors, Louise Mater and Anna Gretta, volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Amy Theiss, Communications Director. Theiss explained that the Foundation is funded by private and corporate donations. They are able to make a wish come true for a child in Maine every five days. Theiss said that 85% of every dollar donated to the foundation goes directly to funding wishes.

"A trip to Disney World is the wish most children would like granted," said Theiss. "But we have had wishes as simple as asking for a puppy or as unique as wanting to eat fish with Eskimos." She praised the volunteers who donate their time to the foundation. "They go out to the homes and determine what a child truly wants by asking a four part question. `If you could go anywhere, be anything, have anything or meet anyone, what would you choose?' "

All present at the party were treated to a cake, decorated in Florida colors, donated by Hannaford's Supermarket with soft drinks and paper plates donate by McDonald's.

Among family members relishing the celebration were two guests who share a special relationship. Andrew Small's grandmother, Barbara Small, and Mariah's grandmother, Sally Wright, were best friends in their elementary school years in Bath. They have stayed in touch through the years, but no one could have known that someday they would share this bittersweet moment.

Now in lasting memory of Andrew Small, Mariah will be treated to every 12-year-old's dream. Not only will she rub elbows with the Disney gang, she and her family will be staying at the incomparable Give Kids the World Village that is a 70-acre, non-profit resort designed to make dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses.

"Sometimes families that stay at the resort are so thrilled with the setting that they almost don't want to leave it to go to Disney World," said Theiss. A Central Florida hotel owner, Henri Landwirth, who first offered an all expense paid trip to Disney for a child with leukemia and her family, founded the resort. He established the GKTW organization and encouraged other members of the hospitality industry to participate.

PFC Andrew Small will never be forgotten by his family, this community and one very special little girl.