Our Story
It started with a simple thought:
"I wish I knew someone who needed this."
For more than 35 years, I have been designing and remodeling kitchens. Over the years, I watched useful things in good condition — cabinets, lighting, appliances, fixtures, countertops, hardware, and other materials — being removed from homes and often ending up in dumpsters.
I kept wondering: what if there were a way to connect those things with someone who could actually use them?
The beginning
A thought that stayed with me.
For years, I couldn't stop thinking about how often useful things are discarded simply because they are no longer needed in one place.
The problem wasn't always that the item had no value. Sometimes, the problem was simply this: the person who had it didn't know who needed it. And the person who needed it didn't know where to find it.
I began seriously thinking about creating a way to make that connection in 2009. What started as a simple thought slowly became a much bigger vision.
In 2021, 1to1WiSh became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since then, I have continued putting my time, resources, learning, and energy into building a platform that can help people find one another and turn that simple idea into something real.
Beyond the kitchen
It started with kitchens.
The idea became much bigger.
What I saw in remodeling happens in many industries and in many homes every day.
- A business may have equipment it no longer uses.
- A restaurant may be replacing useful items.
- A hotel may have furniture, lighting, appliances, or fixtures from a renovation.
- A hospital may have equipment or resources that are no longer needed.
- A school may have computers, books, furniture, or educational materials.
- A manufacturer may have usable materials or surplus inventory.
- A contractor may have building materials left from a project.
- An office may have computers, desks, chairs, or other equipment.
- A family may have clothing, toys, household items, or baby items their children have outgrown.
And a person may have something even more valuable to give: a skill. Knowledge. A service. Or their time.
"Every person and every industry has something that may still be valuable to someone else."
A closer look
Sometimes, the smallest WiSh can mean the most.
Think about baby clothes.
A mother may spend a lot of money choosing a beautiful outfit for her baby. She may choose it with care, imagining her child wearing it for the first time.
But babies grow so quickly. Sometimes, after only a few months, those clothes no longer fit. The clothes may still be beautiful and in excellent condition.
The mother may not want to simply throw them away. She may wish she could find another mother who truly needs them — and who will cherish them just as much.
That is the kind of connection 1to1WiSh is designed to create. One mother gives something her child has outgrown. Another mother receives something she may not have been able to afford. And something that might have been forgotten or discarded gets a second life with a family who values it.
Then, when that child grows again, the receiving mother may choose to Pay It Forward.
"Sometimes, what we no longer need can still carry meaning for someone else."
No wish too small
A WiSh can be small.
A WiSh can be big.
Every WiSh can matter.
1to1WiSh isn't simply about unwanted things. A WiSh can be:
- An item
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Lighting
- Appliances
- Tools
- Equipment
- Medical equipment
- School supplies
- Technology
- Business surplus
- Resources
- A skill
- Knowledge
- A service
- Someone's time
A doctor may have medical equipment that is no longer needed and connect with another doctor or clinic where it is needed. A business may have computers or equipment sitting unused and connect with a school or organization that can use them. A person may have a skill they can teach. Someone may simply have an hour or two to help.
The size or price of a WiSh does not determine its value. Its value may come from what it means to the person who receives it.
Why it matters
What if useful things could find a second life?
In 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the United States generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris — more than twice the amount of household waste generated that same year.
The question isn't only "How do we throw less away?" It is also: "Who could use what we no longer need?"
1to1WiSh is designed to create opportunities for useful items, equipment, resources, skills, services, and time to find people who can use them. We can't promise to solve landfill waste — but we can help reduce unnecessary waste, create opportunities for reuse, and help useful things reach people who need them.
Global reach
One connection can go farther than we imagine.
- One Person
- Family
- Community
- City
- State / Province
- Country
- World
A WiSh can be local. A WiSh can reach across a state or province. A WiSh can cross a country. And when the person creating the WiSh chooses "Anywhere in the World," the possibility can become global.
A local family helping another family. A business helping a school in another city. A doctor sharing equipment with another doctor in another country. Someone sharing knowledge or a skill with a person they may never have otherwise met.
We don't have to live in the same place to make a difference in someone's life.
Not a donation pool
You choose who you help.
1to1WiSh is not a general donation pool. What you give isn't placed somewhere and distributed without you knowing who receives it. You can browse WiShes, read the request, understand the person's need, and choose who you would like to help.
If more than one person is requesting something similar, you can read their requests and decide where you want your WiSh to make a difference. The person requesting a WiSh also has the opportunity to explain how they plan to Pay It Forward — that can help you understand who you're connecting with.
Then the people involved communicate directly and decide together how the WiSh will be fulfilled. 1to1WiSh provides the platform. The people make the connection.
Pay it forward
A WiSh doesn't have to end with one person.
The person receiving a WiSh is asked how they plan to Pay It Forward. It might be:
- Helping someone else
- Sharing a skill
- Giving their time
- Passing along an item when they no longer need it
- Helping another family
- Supporting their community
There's no requirement that the Pay It Forward act be equal in value. The idea is simply that receiving something can inspire another act of giving.
"Give what you can. Receive what you need. Pay It Forward when you can."
The journey
A personal journey, one year at a time.
- 2009 The idea "I wish I knew someone who needed this."
- — Years of learning, planning & building Turning an idea into a platform.
- 2021 501(c)(3) 1to1WiSh becomes a nonprofit organization.
- Today Still building Continuing to build a platform that can connect people and organizations locally and around the world.
Where we're headed
A model built to grow with trust at its center.
- Verify — build trust around the people, organizations, and WiShes on the platform.
- Connect — help the right giver find the right need.
- Enable — make it easier to coordinate the exchange directly.
- Measure — capture real stories and meaningful impact over time.
- Pay It Forward — encourage one fulfilled WiSh to inspire another act of generosity.
"The platform is the infrastructure; the people are the heart of the mission."
The bigger vision
What if we all made a difference?
You don't have to be a large company. You don't have to have something expensive. You don't have to solve a global problem. You can start with one thing.
One item. One resource. One skill. One hour. One connection. One WiSh.
Imagine millions of people making small choices to help someone else. Imagine businesses looking at surplus differently. Imagine families passing along things that still have value. Imagine people sharing their skills and knowledge. Imagine useful equipment reaching places where it is needed. Imagine a connection that begins in one neighborhood eventually reaching another country.
The goal isn't to suggest that one platform can solve every problem. The goal is to create more opportunities for people to help one another — because everyone can make a difference.
Everyone has something to give.
Everyone may need something someday.
We all have different things to give. We all have different things we may need. Sometimes what we have is an item. Sometimes it is a resource. Sometimes it is a skill. Sometimes it is knowledge. Sometimes it is simply our time. 1to1WiSh creates a place where those possibilities can meet.
Where it stands today
It started with one thought.
"I wish I knew someone who needed this."
And today, that thought has become a vision: a world where people can look at what they have and ask, "Who could this help?"
A world where a small WiSh can matter just as much as a big one. A world where people, families, businesses, organizations, communities, cities, states, countries, and the world can all participate. A world where everyone has the opportunity to make a difference.
One WiSh.
One connection.
A world of possibilities.