{"id":856,"date":"2019-11-05T08:16:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T16:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/?p=856"},"modified":"2026-08-30T22:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:50:04","slug":"wishing-on-a-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wishing-on-a-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Wishing on a Star!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This article was printed in the<\/em>
\n Autumn 2019 issue of Chic Compass Magazine<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Las Vegas Strip\u2019s \u201cWalk of Stars\u201d honors Frank Shankwitz. Photo courtesy of William Burdine \/ SoCalCreations.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Wishing on a Star!<\/h1>\n

BY STACEY GUALANDI<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Frank Shankwitz believes everyone can be a hero.<\/p>\n

While his name might not ring a bell, the charity he helped create should. Shankwitz started the Make-A-Wish Foundation and his life story is the subject of a new movie called WISH MAN<\/em>. Now this retired motorcycle cop hopes to spread his hero worship message to the masses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that I learned as a child is you don\u2019t have to have money to give back. You can give back your time. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve tried to do my whole life,\u201d says Shankwitz.<\/p>\n

His good deeds haven\u2019t gone unnoticed. In September, Shankwitz received his very own star on the Las Vegas Strip\u2019s \u201cWalk of Stars\u201d shortly after the VOD and DVD release of the film. He says the honor was surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only star I\u2019ve ever had was on my [police] uniform and that was it!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Shankwitz overcame humble beginnings and a traumatic childhood to dedicate his career to service. \u201cI\u2019m a veteran and served 42 years in law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

While on duty in 1978, Shankwitz survived a horrific motorcycle accident that nearly took his life - his heart stopped for almost four minutes. A counselor later told Shankwitz, \u201cGod spared you for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shankwitz admits he never thought about that. \u201cI found out that reason about two years later when I met the little boy who inspired me and others to start the Make-A-Wish Foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopher Greicius loved the television show CHiPs and always dreamed of being a police officer. But the seven-year-old had leukemia, so Shankwitz and several officers on the Arizona Highway Patrol gave Chris his wish: to be a cop for a day. The young boy died just four days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Chris had survived, he would have ended up being a Major and I would have ended up working for him,\u201d Shankwitz imagines. \u201cI only knew Christopher for 15 hours but meeting him gave me a new perspective on life.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the first Disney wish in 1981 was a big success, Shankwitz told his board he envisioned the foundation granting wishes all over the world, \u201cbut they all laughed at me, except the one lady [Kitty] who gave me my wish three years later when she said, \u2018I do.\u2019\u201d Since then, the non-profit has granted over 450,000 life-changing wishes for kids with critical illnesses.<\/p>\n

But almost 40 years later, Frank Shankwitz had one more dream realized, thanks to acclaimed author and WISH MAN producer Greg S. Reid, PhD. who also received his own star on the walk of fame not far from Shankwitz\u2019s. The two men first met while Reid was researching his book \u201cStickability: The Power of Perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Frank<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Frank and Kitty Shankwitz<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\u201cI asked him what his wish was, and he said no one had ever asked him that,\u201d says the author of 82 books. \u201cI said, \u2018Well, I\u2019ll grant your wish. No matter what you want in life, I will give it to you,\u2019 and he said, \u2018I just want my story to be told.\u2019 So, it took six years and millions of dollars and me not knowing what I was doing, but here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shankwitz, who is now a sought-after public speaker, was the technical advisor, consultant and producer on the film, which stars Australian actor Andrew Steel as \u201cFrank.\u201d The socially conscious Steel - who started his own philanthropic film festival called \u201cFlicks4Change\u201d - says it was an emotional experience for Shankwitz, but his story needed to be told.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt any point in your life, you can turn it around and you can do something incredible with that next breath. Frank had a near death experience \u2026 that could have been the end,\u201d says Steel. \u201cSo, it could be a bad day, it could be a great day, but we can always do more, and with a little help from our friends, amazing things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

That could include awards. The folks behind the film - also starring Frank Whaley, Tom Sizemore, and Danny Trejo - say WISH MAN is on the festival circuit and is now Oscar-qualified, so winning trophies may not be wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

But a humble Shankwitz says whatever the future holds, he\u2019ll never stop giving hope to so many through simple acts of kindness. He\u2019s certainly the hero of his own story.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Frank<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Frank Shankwitz stands beside his star on the Las Vegas Strip\u2019s \u201cWalk of Stars\u201d Photo courtesy of William Burdine \/ SoCalCreations.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\u201cI always turn a negative into a positive. There\u2019s always going to be bad things in life, but so what? Just uplift, accept it, improve it and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

WISH MAN<\/em> is now available on VOD and DVD. For more information check out wishmanmovie.com<\/a> and wishman1.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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