The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes of all shapes and sizes, whether it’s incredible trips to Disneyland, meeting your hero, or in this case getting the accessible backyard of your dreams! And to make those dreams come true, they turn to generous local partners who can make these wishes into realities!

To grant 5-year old Tennyson’s wish of a more accessible yard with spaces for him to safely spend time outside watching his older brother play, they turned to local exterior construction experts, Rick’s Custom Fencing and Decking. Rick’s has been a fixture of the Portland area for over 40 years, providing installations and materials for the Do-it-yourselfer, while always striving to add positivity to their community.

In September of 2020, Make-A-Wish Oregon contacted Rick’s about an opportunity to transform a very deserving family’s backyard in to the oasis of their dreams. Just one month later, Tennyson and his family had a brand new Acrilyte cover, over a new Armadillo Composite Deck complete with Aluminum Handrails for safety. Two ramps for easy access for Tennyson and this project was complete… almost! A new fence was also needed to take full advantage of the space, so Rick’s tore out the old fence line and doubled the size of the side yard, with a new fence complete with Steel Posts and gate frames so this fence will withstand even the most severe PNW weather!

This project was made possible in part with the help of the Rick’s Community Support Drive that Rick’s started last June. “After seeing the impact of Covid-19 on our communities and knowing how fortunate we were to be one of the businesses able to operate, we wanted to make sure that we gave back as much as possible this year,” said Taylor Pawley, Director of the Rick’ Community Support Drive. The Drive began with a $25,000 contribution shared between Impact NW, Maurice Lucas Foundation, and 3 Rivers Community Foundation, and by the end of the year, that had doubled to over $50,000 in contributions and countless volunteer hours by their employees and partners.

 “We just want to say thank you, I think that’s the big thing is how grateful we are for the (Make-A-Wish) foundation and all the vendors that helped give this opportunity to us and especially to Tennyson. It means the world how the community has come together, people we don’t even know, to make dreams happen” -Calli, Tennyson’s mom.

“Our employees and vendors went above and beyond to take this project from dream to reality, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their contributions,” said Pawley.

For more information about this project and the Rick’s Community Support Drive, visit ricksfencing.com/community-support