The following appeared August 30, 2009 in the

Boca man fulfills New Jersey kid's wish to meet WALL-E

By Dave Rossman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted August 30, 2009

 BOCA RATON - Four-year-old George Jacobs recently had his wish come true in Boca Raton.

When he was 5 months old, George was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that forms in the nerve tissue. He has gone through two surgeries, eight rounds of chemotherapy and lost a kidney.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation has been trying to fulfill George's wish for years, but he did not have one until recently.

"They kept contacting us, but he was just too young and didn't really have a specific wish," said George's mother, Betsy Jacobs. "That all changed when he saw the film WALL-E, and all he wanted to do was meet WALL-E."

The family began researching places that may have the robot and planned to come to the South Florida Science Museum to view an exhibit, but they ended up with a much more personal encounter.

Boca Raton resident Rick Newman has an extensive robot collection, and the foundation contacted him about the family visiting Boca Raton.

"It just so happened that all of my robots are home between exhibits for maintenance and programming, and we are absolutely thrilled they are here," Newman said.

The family was flown from their home in New Jersey and spent the day at the Newman's, as George and his twin brother, Thomas, basked in robot utopia. There were robots big and small, talking and silent, but George kept coming back to his favorite: WALL-E.

"Look at my shorts! Look at my shorts," exclaimed George, who was clad head to toe in WALL-E garb.

"The foundation asked if he wanted to meet Mickey at Disney, and he said, 'No, I want to meet WALL-E.' Ever since he saw the film, it is all he talked about; and this is just so incredible," his mother said.

George had been counting down the days to the big meeting and could hardly contain himself.

"He would put a sticker on the calendar for each day that passed by, and it really was all he could talk about," she said. "I cannot put into words what it means to see him so happy and so excited about all of this."

Newman also reached out to contacts in the industry, several of whom donated toys and robots.

"We received several donations, and we also bought him a new WALL-E DVD and blanket," Newman said. "Seeing the look on his face is priceless, and who wouldn't reach out to help a child in this situation?"

To check out Newman's collection, visit www.high techscience.org/robots. htm.

Click Here to see pictures of the "Make A Wish" event.