Local student motivated to make wishes come true for critically ill

Aden is in the third grade at Minnesota Connections Academy. According to his father Joe, they chose to enroll their son in the online school mid-year last year to give Aden the opportunity to learn independently and to develop skills that will benefit him later.

The Meyers looked into home-schooling Aden, however since Joe and his wife both work, that wasn’t a viable option. They did find that Minnesota Connections Academy offers the resources and teacher support that would effectively meet Aden’s needs. At the same time the school would provide the flexibility they wanted to travel more and provide more opportunities for Aden to learn and experience things outside of the classroom.

“With Minnesota Connections Academy, Aden is able to dictate his day and we’re able to continue his learning after his class time through different, individual experiences.”

Joe calls those individual learning activities his “Dad Academy.”

With the flexibility that helps Aden to become a more individualized student, he’s also learning how to be a self-motivated learner which will help him as he progresses academically.

Aden’s self-motivation, Joe said, is working in other areas beyond his education and in a way that benefit others in the community.

Aden has been leading an effort, with the help of parents, to raise money and awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps to fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness.

Every year for the past five years, Aden has hosted “Santa Photos for a Cause” to raise money for Make-A-Wish Minnesota. Joe said Aden involves himself in every aspect of the event including the sponsorships, the planning and greeting families and children throughout the day.

“Aden is never shy about sharing the great things that Make-A-Wish does and every year he becomes even more inspired and focused to raising more money,” Joe said.

This year’s event drew more than 100 families and raised more than $1,500. Since he started the event, Aden has raised more than $10,000 to help make a difference in the lives of other children. Probably the best part, Joe said, is Aden has been able to see the impact of his work.

Joe recalls during a visit to Disney World, they had the chance to speak with a Make-A-Wish family and after their brief conversation and the challenges they were was experiencing, the father thanked Aden for everything he was doing.

Joe said that Aden is now planning to host two events next year to make more wishes come true.