Following a successful 20-year career in service industry management for multi-million dollar hospitals, behavioral healthcare organizations and ambulatory surgical centers, Forkin's life took a prophetic turn, leading her down a path towards a passion that would embrace seniors who dreamt at night of unfulfilled wishes. Seniors who spent the majority of their lives bringing joy to others.

Forkin rallied business associates, corporate contacts and the media to publicize the development of her new non-profit, The Twilight Wish Foundation, that makes wishes come true for elderly individuals and groups. Three years later, the challenge continues to herald the funding required to transform elderly citizens' dreams into realities.
The impetus for founding The Twilight Wish Foundation (TWF) hailed from Forkin's inner calling to reach out and help seniors who needed an angel on their side. Her profession enveloped her in the healthcare environment, and her personal life also exposed her to the isolation many seniors face in a variety of at-home, assisted living and nursing home facilities where she had first-hand experience while visiting her ailing mother every day. She also spoke with other family members who were caregivers, and a recurring message kept ringing true to Forkin: "These men and women's lives are not over. They are God's older children, and we must respect and thank them for what they have done with their lives."
The Foundation began in 2003 with a revelation that woke Forkin from her sleep. She ran over to her desk and through half-opened eyes, scribbled barely legible words onto a crumbled piece of paper. Those notes lay the groundwork for her mission to celebrate the lives of senior citizens by granting them unattainable wishes.
"A year before establishing The Twilight Wish Foundation I started researching on the Internet, and there was no organization out there granting wishes to senior citizens," Forkin explained. "I found that absolutely amazing. Here are individuals who have spent all of their lives caring for us, and now it's our turn as a society to say 'thank you' for all you do, and no one is."
So Forkin got to work assembling The Twilight Wish Foundation.
The first time Forkin publicly announced that she was starting the Foundation was at a Bucks County Women's Business Forum, back in October 2003. The next day three women from that meeting phoned her - Gina Furia Rubel, Laura Finch and Chanin Walsh, along with associate Andy Cleff, who chimed in to help.
"Gina Rubel immediately got me on TV and in the press, Laura Finch pitched in with additional marketing communications and strategic tools, and Chanin and Andy designed my collateral and web site. The Twilight Wish Foundation was officially out there. Now, what we need on an on-going basis is the funding to grant those inspirational wishes. It's the stories from our recipients that stir our hearts and drives us to want to make each dream happen for a well-deserving senior, but it's the money that is crucial," said Forkin with tears in her eyes.
The Twilight Wish Foundation finances its work through individual contributions, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, planned gifts, special events, in-kind donations and profits from sales of TWF products.
"The community thinks TWF does wonderful things, but if they think that, then we'd welcome company and individual support. There is no philanthropist underwriting what's needed to make these wishes come true. We have so much to do and require the funds from a multitude of sources to do this," stated Forkin.
When sponsors e-mail or phone, wonderful wishes have included a hot air balloon ride, a blimp ride, a Bingo party and the simple wish of one Dominick D'Adamo, a former Jenkintown postman, whose only wish was to "walk" his route one more time. This was no small task. You see, over the span of 20 years, Dominick was crippled by multiple sclerosis, so debilitating that the wish seemed more of a pipedream. TWF converted that pipedream into a concerto of success. Dominick did travel his old postal route, and his coming was so well publicized that residents and businesses along his route greeted him with waves, cheers and gifts. That is what it is all about.
A bittersweet wish came from an 81-year-old mother, Margaret, who could not afford to pay for her son Isaiah's funeral. According to Forkin, Margaret lost her son suddenly and tragically in June 2003.
Living in a nursing home, Margaret, Forkin said, was forced to bury her son in an unmarked grave. Through The Twilight Wish Foundation, Forkin said De Christopher Bros., Inc. and Mount Moriah Cemetery agreed to donate the headstone and the foundation to the family. A private donor provided the dress, hat and scarf for the mother, and Margaret's son was given a formal and respectable burial.
Individual and corporate sponsors are needed. For information, call 877-TWF-WISH (877-893-9474), or visit www.twilightwishfoundation.org.
Donations may also be mailed directly to: Twilight Wish Foundation, P.O. Box 1042, Doylestown 18901.


©Doylestown Patriot 2006