"If you could close your eyes right now and wish for any three things in the world, what would they be?

Where there’s a wish, there’s always a way. The thing is, dreaming has no age limit, and it frees your soul. It takes you places you haven't been. It makes the impossible possible."

Ruby Kate Chitsey, CEO & Founder of Three wishes for Ruby's Residents

Kindness is my hobby.

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When Ruby Kate Chitsey was ten years old, she didn't want to go to school because she was being bullied. "I knew that when I walked through the door that someone was going to pick on me." Ruby had a skin condition which made her an easy target for meanness. Although it was a harmless skin condition, it was the source of bullying for Ruby, who was called ugly names by her classmates repeatedly.

Instead of staying at home, Ruby accompanied her mother to the nursing home where she worked. “When I first went with my mom to the nursing home, I just remember feeling as if the people were my friends.” Ruby said everyone treated her as if they already knew her, as if they had always been her friends. “I really bonded with them because they’re just my age, just sixty years older, and they’re just like my best friends.”

I went around the nursing home and I starting asking every single resident if they could have any three things in the world what would they be.

Even now, when Ruby walks through the doors of the nursing home, she still loves seeing the residents’ reactions upon her arrival. They’re immediately happy, and Ruby continuously enjoys giving all of them hugs. “When I went to the nursing home, the nursing residents made my wish come true. I wanted people to see who I really was, and that inspired me to ask them what their wishes were.”

“It was all my idea from the start. My mom really didn’t think it was going to work. She told me that I needed to simplify my question and ask them if they wanted any three things from Walmart.” Despite the doubts, Ruby knew she was going to stick with her original question: If you could have any three things in the world, what would they be?

“I went around the nursing home and I starting asking every single resident if they could have any three things in the world what would they be. They responded with really simple items such as candy, fruits, pillows, new clothes, and really simple items.”

“I really bonded with them because they're just my age, only sixty years older.”

Ruby hadn’t been expecting such simple requests, and she laughs while admitting she had anticipated being asked for tropical vacations and Lamborghinis. “When I showed my mom all their answers and the wishes they wanted, she was blown away and wanted to help them immediately.” They left right away and got as many items from the list as they could. “When we brought them the stuff they wished for we saw people cry happy tears because of how happy they were just to receive stuff from a kid.”

The first person Ruby had asked was a woman named Rose. “She wanted a Chicago pizza, a movie theatre ticket, and I think a new pair of shoes.” Ruby had found Rose sitting alone one day by a window with a sorrowful look on her face. Rose told Ruby that she was watching her dog leave for the last time. “That was really heartbreaking because I had also just lost a dog.” Two weeks later, Ruby learned the reason Rose lost her dog was not because the animal was ill, but because Rose only received forty dollars a month and could no longer afford to provide for her pet.

“I really wanted to help her because she had helped me in the past.” Ruby credits Rose with greatly improving her mental health. So they got the Chicago pizza and ate it together. (And it was delicious, according to Ruby.) Two years later, Ruby found the household where Rose’s dog had been rehomed. Rose got another special wish, albeit one she didn’t ask for since she didn’t know it was possible. “We got to show Rose her dog again.”

Rose and millions of other residents across America don’t receive enough to pay for the little things they may need, such as snacks or books, or even necessities like shoes and clothing. Basic needs like a haircut can cost a lot more in some facilities than others. In some nursing homes, the residents only receive thirty dollars as a monthly allowance. In other nursing home, residents don’t receive any allowance.

Whether it’s a can of Vienna sausage that cost fifty cents or a two hundred-dollar television, everyone is always happy when their wish is fulfilled, no matter how big or how small the wish was. Ruby has seen tears of joy and has received too many hugs to count, but it still elates her to be called “an angel” or “a life-saver.”

Helping others gives me motivation and hope for the world

Ruby’s kindness didn’t stop with the wishes. “It was kinda difficult starting a non-profit and an online fundraiser because me and my mom both had no idea how that worked. I was in fifth grade. I wasn’t expecting something so large to happen.” Four years into it, Ruby has raised over half of a million dollars and has granted twenty-five thousand wishes. “I’ve received a lot of recognition for all the work and effort that I’ve done to help nursing home residents. It makes me feel really good. I do love receiving awards but what makes it even better is receiving personal handwritten notes from people who I’ve helped all over the United States.”

Ruby admits there is often a lot of sadness and death in nursing homes. The residents often confide their personal stories and share their recent losses with Ruby, such as the passing of their spouses or children. “I reassure them that I’m always here for them, that I love them.”

Despite the immediate sense of the fragility of life in nursing homes, Ruby has seen a remarkable boost in her mood since her miserable experiences in school, back when she didn’t have a stable friend group and the friends she did have were toxic. “I think helping others has taken me out of a really dark place in my life. It gives me motivation and hope for the world. And it makes me just feel great.” 

Ruby’s wish to be seen for the person she is came true when she found the nursing home, but when pressed to make three more, she is genuine and keeps it simple: “My three wishes are to impact others, and probably some tic tacs, and to make others happy.” Her goal for the next few years is to raise the spending limit per resident from forty dollars to fifty, then sixty. She wants to accommodate all nursing home residents and every single one of their wishes. 

Ruby is now the vice president of Builder’s Club, which aims to get youth engaging with their community through volunteering. She is constantly recruiting people her age to participate. “I try to inspire people every day to make kindness their hobby.”

"My kindness is my purpose and my lineage."

Ruby Kate Chitsey, CEO & Founder of Three wishes for Ruby's Residents

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