The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Bridge City middle schooler Dylan Hall, center, holds a White House Lego set he received along with news that non-profit Buckaroo Wishes will be sending him and his parents, Kim, left and Lee Hall to Washington, D.C. this summer. RECORD PHOTO: Lawrence Trimm

Dave Rogers - For The Record

Last summer, Dylan Hall missed Bridge City Middle School’s seventh-grade trip to Washington, D.C.

“He chose to go to MDA camp instead,” said Kim Hall, Dylan’s mother.

He’s going to Washington this year, thanks to a new local non-profit organization in Orange called Buckaroo Wishes.

“It’s like Make A Wish without the overhead,” said Krissy Reese, Buckaroo Wishes president.

The organization’s goal is to grant wishes to children 18 years and younger with life threatening illnesses.

Dylan, 14, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.

Reese, board members Bailey Aaron and Tammy Dickerson joined group sponsors and family friends to surprise Dylan with a party last week at Romano’s in Bridge City.

“We’re super excited,” Kim Hall said. “He [Dylan] had no clue what was coming.”

Buckaroo Wishes will not only fly Dylan and his family to Washington, D.C. next month, but it has arranged for a personal tour of the White House by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin’s wife Roxanne.

And that’s not all.

The congressman also arranged a personal tour of the Library of Congress and visits to many museums, including the Smithsonian. They will also visit the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and other D.C. landmarks.

“He’s always said he wanted to go there,” said Lee Hall, Dylan’s father.

Dylan is actively involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and an avid reader. He will be starting at Bridge City High School in the fall, as a ninth-grader.

Donors to Buckaroo Wishes include Rope for the Kids of Orange, Orange County Special Angels Rodeo, Bridgefield Electrical Services, Precision Hydrovac Excavation, and several local organizations and many volunteers.

“The most important thing for our organization is to give a child nd their family a happy time where they are free of worry, the thoughts of their pain or illness, or the treatment the child is going through,” Reese said.