Nik’s Wish founder appears on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show,’ gets $10K surprise gift
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The founder of a local nonprofit that grants wishes to young adults facing cancer appeared on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” on Friday and was surprised with a $10,000 gift to support the organization.
Kelli Ritschel Boehle, who founded Nik’s Wish in tribute to her late son Nikolas Ritschel, was invited on the show as part of a segment called “Stacks of Love” that shines a light on stories around mental health and well-being. She taped her episode in late February.
“There’s so much excitement, and the people there were so amazingly nice to me. It was just such an adventure,” Ritschel Boehle said on Friday. “Jennifer Hudson, to me, felt like an incredible, sincere person who genuinely was listening and cared about what I was talking about.”
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Hudson, a Grammy-winning singer and Oscar-winning actress, puts on the segment in partnership with Denny’s. Ritschel Boehle and supporters of Nik’s Wish gathered at Denny’s on East State Street on Friday for a viewing party of the show.
“It’s amazing what they’ve done in terms of growing this foundation since 2012,” said Don Carlson, area manager for Denny’s. “They’ve made 331 wishes in 38 states off of one child’s dream. I just think it’s incredible what they’ve been able to pass on.”
Nikolas Ritschel died in 2012 three years after he was diagnosed with cancer. He was 21. The night before his death, he asked his mom to help young adults who have aged out of the Make-A-Wish program live out their dreams, and that’s been the calling of Nik’s Wish ever since.
Ritschel Boehle is no stranger to national TV appearances. In 2019, she was on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” This past September, she was named a CNN Hero and appeared in a seven-minute segment on the network. The appearance garnered the attention of Hudson’s show and led to her taping the show in late February.
“It was a really wonderful opportunity to be able to spread the word, be able to tell Nik’s story, and just have that recognition for his vision and what the foundation does,” Ritschel Boehle said. “I’m hoping that it catapults us and gets more people to understand there is this gap, we need help filling this gap, and just hope we can do more.”
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The organization has granted 331 wishes since its founding. It has 24 wishes in waiting that it is raising money to fund.
“When that check came out I was literally blown away because that’s a wish,” Ritschel Boehle said. “It was just a gift from heaven, a gift from the show, to pick us and be able to give to us in a time when we really need it.”
About | Nik’s Wish
About: Nik’s Wish is a nonprofit that grants wishes to young adults ages 18-24 who are battling cancer and have aged out of the Make-A-Wish program. The nonprofit is named in honor of Nikolas Ritschel, who died from cancer in 2012 at the age of 21. The night before his death, he asked his mother to help grant wishes for others like him who were too old for Make-A-Wish.
Online: nikolasritschelfoundation.org
Donate: Donate directly to Nik’s Wish HERE or through GoFundMe HERE.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
