Never Too Late - Indianapolis, IN

I think when I was 12, I wrote my first "bucket list," the dreams I wanted to achieve before I died at what I figured would be a young age.

Some of the things that are on it are predictable like skydiving, others not so much '" like having my e book published as a "real" book.

Bob Haverstick of a company called Never Too Late, specializes in making such aspirations come true for senior citizens and terminally ill adults, and has been for ten-and-a-half years.

He has fulfilled over 2,000 wishes in a decade, garnering unusual and funny stories along the way.

"We want to continue to make wishes happen for the elderly and for adults with a terminal illness, and create more spinoffs of our organization," says Haverstick, whose company is based in Indianapolis, IN. "Once people hear about the mission or read about a wish in the newspaper or see a wish unfold on TV, they want to become volunteers or send funds to help support the cause."

Haverstick, whose website is nevertoolate.org, got the idea for his business when he saw a play "Touching Lives" in Nov. 1999 that served as the catalyst to begin Never Too Late in Jan. 2000.

"My primary aim is to live each day filled with energetic compassion," he states. "Translate that mindset into the world of wish-making and it means I get a rush out of 'connecting the dots' to make good things happen for the forgotten elderly and terminally ill adults 'before it's too late.'"

Haverstick aims to continue to find others throughout the country who want to begin their own elder wish-making program and to create intergenerational programs where you have elementary-aged kids visit seniors in long-term care facilities and become penpals with nursing home residents who have no one left to visit or write them.

Such a pilot project is in existence in St. Joseph, MO.

"Sometimes it's a challenge to get seniors to open up and dream again and sometimes it's difficult to get people to want to donate cash, goods, or services for an elder wish because some people mistakenly think that if you've lived long enough, you've already had your shot 'got to do everything you always wanted to do,'" Haverstick explains. "Sometimes folks forget people in their latter years still have important items left on their 'bucket list.'"

Never Too Late may be one of the few organizations in the country that focuses on wishes for two groups - the elderly (over 65) and terminally ill adults - at the same time, according to Haverstick.

"Also it is unique that a not-for-profit organization spends 99 percent of its donated dollars on its mission," he writes.

Haverstick advises others to pursue their passion, one step, one day, one wish at a time.

"Focus on making good things happen for others and everything else will fall in place in your life in all areas," he wrote.