Behind The Wish: Josh Schwartz

Meet Josh Schwartz, one of the champions of the Make-A-Wish Canberra Branch.

Josh was once a wish child and is giving back through volunteering.

Behind The Wish is our series of inspirational reads diving into the everyday superheroes involved in creating life-changing wishes.

LAB FOCUS

True crime combined with science leads to a career

I was born in Sydney and grew up in the Sutherland Shire.

During school, I was very passionate about science, so I did a lot of science subjects. I was never really interested in lab-based work, or medical science, or anything like that, even though I had a strong passion for science.

I also had this passion for true crime, so that’s where my ambition to become a forensic scientist came from. Sort of the perfect amalgamation of my passion for science and my curiosity about true crime. What motivates people to do certain things. Trying to use science to make the community a safer place.

I studied forensic science at university. I worked in a state forensic lab for a few years and then I moved to Canberra in 2013 to start work as a forensic biologist.

JOSH'S WISH

From wish child to volunteer

I used to be a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions. As I was doing that one year, they were all very self-centered resolutions.

On paper, it seemed like quite a selfish list of things I wanted to achieve. I thought, 'I should spend some of my time doing community work, doing something that doesn’t revolve around me.'

I already knew about Make-A-Wish, as I had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when I was a child between the ages of 5 and 8 and I was lucky enough to have a wish granted.

I actually don’t remember too much of the bad stuff, the medical treatment. The memories I have are sort of neutral to positive. I remember some of the really lovely nurses who took care of me. I remember spending a lot of time with my mum watching Gilligan’s Island and H.R Pufnstuf on the TV. I remember some of the friends I made in hospital.

It must be something the mind does: not dwelling so much on the negative and trying to focus on the more positive side of things.

When I was told I would be getting a wish, I think at first I wanted a Super Nintendo for my wish, and mum and dad said "We will buy you a Super Nintendo, so maybe think of something else you want to do."

I did what is a popular wish, the trip to the Gold Coast. Went with my family to the theme parks. I remember going to Dracula’s when that was still a restaurant up there. I was big into motorbikes so I remember I got to ride on a Harley Davidson.

I was 8 when I had my bone marrow transplant, so I think I was a little younger when I had my wish.

The wish really lifted my spirits and I think it was also really good for my parents. We had such a good time. I remember we were picked up by a limousine, I think that was to take us to the Dracula’s dinner.

It was just a hugely positive experience which is really impactful when you are going through such a trying time. Especially for the parents, to finally see their child laughing and having a good time.

The kids are so resilient, so it’s probably the parents that struggle the most.

I just thought Make-A-Wish would be a really good organisation to volunteer with. It was an easy decision, I wanted to volunteer with an organisation I already knew.

Being a benefactor of what Make-A-Wish does, I thought that would be a great way of giving some of my time to the community.

BRANCH

Social outings a feature of Branch

I am Branch President at the moment, but we are about to go through elections for all positions within the Branch. I have had two terms of President, but I’ll be handing over the reins.

I was the Vice President for a short while before that. I remember when it happened. Being in Canberra, a lot of our volunteers are public servants. And I think three of our volunteers – including our President – worked for Scott Morrison’s office.

So when he became Prime Minister, they suddenly got a lot busier and had to stop volunteering. So it was a little by default I got propelled into the President role.

It's been rewarding being President. The attitude I have taken is to try and look after the team and support the team as much as possible.

Because I have got a really good group of volunteers in the Canberra Branch, it's been a very positive experience.

Probably the toughest thing over the years has been the retention of volunteers. Canberra is quite a transient city. We have a lot of people who come down here for work and then they go elsewhere. We had a pretty high turnover of volunteers.

As our numbers fluctuate so much, it’s difficult to organise big fundraising events.

We can have 10 volunteers and all of a sudden that will drop to six. I have been trying to get that solid foundation of volunteer numbers that will enable us to grant more wishes and also do more fundraising.

That’s definitely been the biggest challenge.

We are a pretty young Branch, I’m 37 and I would be one of the oldest members of the Branch. I’m not quite sure why that is. I actually wouldn’t mind some people in the retired stage of their lives who can devote more time to volunteering than people who are still working full-time.

I think one of the reasons people volunteer is to create another circle of friends. So one of the things I have tried to do as President is have as many social outings as possible. We went out for dinner at our Branch meeting last week. I have tried to make it as sociable an experience as possible. I want the team to be close to and comfortable with one another.

We have meetings at a bar, in a casual environment, and then stay back for a couple of drinks and talk and have some fun.

I have tried to make volunteering not just about our output, but making it a positive experience by increasing their social network.

WISH CAPTURE

PM makes wish kid a priority

For me it’s all about the child’s reaction to the wish. It could be the most mundane wish, in my opinion, but as long as it is what they want and they really enjoy the experience, that’s all that matters.

We recently had one where we did a couple of wish interviews with this child and all he wanted was this game, I think it was an X-Box game. We said, "We can definitely do that but what other interests do you have, have you thought about travelling anywhere?" He was just completely content with this game.

So as part of the wish-granting process, as well as getting him the game, we got this cake made in the theme of this game and he was over the moon, he was so happy.

We had one with where a boy from Melbourne wanted to meet the Prime Minister. He wanted to meet Malcolm Turnbull but by the time the wish was granted, he wasn’t Prime Minister anymore. So it was Scott Morrison.

This wish child was a bit older, I think he was about 16. He was interested in politics and wanted to pursue a career in politics. What struck me about the wish was just how generous the PM and the staff at Parliament House were with their time.

I think the PM pushed back one of his meetings just to spend a bit more time with the wish child.

That was a really positive experience and it goes to show that even the Prime Minister of the country recognises how important these wishes can be to children with critical illness.

FULFILMENT

'You actually do get something in return'

Make-A-Wish is one of the few organisations dedicated purely to increasing the well-being of someone who is going through a very difficult time in their life.

And not just only on the wish child, but I think on the whole family. Especially the parents. That’s one thing I love about going to wish interviews and doing wish-granting, is just seeing how happy it makes the parents. Seeing that their child is happy, brings them so much happiness.

The number of times a wish parent has cried during a wish interview or a wish reveal, because it’s such a relief for them: to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is still hope.

I think being able to give your time to an organisation that is dedicated to increasing the well-being of an individual and their family is very rewarding.

When you give with the intention of just giving, not with the intention of expecting to receive anything in return, you actually do get something in return.

You’re being a good global citizen and you’re doing something small to make your community a more positive place and lifting the spirits of someone going through a tough time.

Make-A-Wish has reinforced my belief that kids are remarkably resilient. I know when I was going through my treatment, you just went along with it. It was just something that was going on. I never thought I wouldn’t get through it. You just went along to the appointments and did what you had to do.

From my interactions with wish kids, they all seem to have this remarkable resilience, they are just getting it done.

It’s so much harder for the parents because they understand the possible consequences.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

New skills help Josh at work and volunteering

I work in a team in my daytime job and I work in a team in my volunteering with Make-A-Wish.

Both teams are made up of diverse individuals, with different strengths, talents and ways of thinking.

We receive coaching at Make-A-Wish through an external provider and that was hugely beneficial because I got some really good ideas on how to leverage strengths in the Branch. And in making the volunteers feel seen, recognised and valued.

That coaching we received was fantastic.

I don’t really want or need recognition for work I do at Make-A-Wish or in my 9 to 5 job and I thought other people were the same. But I tried something different. I tried to individually recognise people in the Branch, telling them what I appreciate about their work and how grateful I am for the talents they bring to the Branch.

It was quite a small Branch meeting, but after I did that the entire mood of the meeting shifted.

All of a sudden everyone was positive and was sharing these positive ideas and being more collaborative with each other.

Those people management skills ae really transferable, not only to my 9 to 5 job but life in general.

Everyone is different and the way you might think a situation should be handled, might not be the best way and you should consider other ways of approaching it.

My motivation to find time for Make-A-Wish is because of the Branch. I don’t want to let them down. So I try and pull my weight as much as possible. I want to lead by example and take on as much as I can.

I want the Branch to be a good place to be.

Make-A-Wish is also something I just enjoy doing. It’s something I am passionate about.

I have also been trying to limit my wastefulness when it comes to time.

I have been trying to limit the amount of time I am watching Netflix shows. If I start a show, I will be watching three episodes a day and there goes three hours of my life where I could have been doing something more productive.

I want to be able to spend my time as productively as possible.

I guess when you weigh up the option of spending time on Netflix versus doing something that benefits the community, it’s easier to make a good decision.

I am a pretty neutral person when it comes to emotions. I’m pretty middle of the road.

I don’t go through big swings in my emotional baseline. I am more motivated by what is the right thing to do. So like how we use our time productively. How do we live a good life in general. It comes down to what we do with our time and the attention we pay to things in our life, whether it’s work or other things.

Even though life gets quite busy, I find I still have enough time to devote to important things like Make-A-Wish.

Josh has been a proud volunteer since 2016