Cynthia Turner, owner of Detailed Events in downtown Jackson, volunteers to help facilitate the wish exchange, a program that allows county residents to help support each other in the face of the economic downturn. Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

It's the place where dreams come true, and even in a desolate economy with dark shadows cast over the lives of so many local residents, it's where hope still rises.

It started with a list of wishes: A single mom needed books for her children. Check. The Interfaith Food Bank in Jackson needed an extra row of tomatoes. Check. A young autistic child wanted to go horseback riding. Check.

These are just a few of the wishes made by local residents. Each of these was granted. In a neatly stacked pile of wishes written on small, white cards stacked on Cynthia Turner's desk, a slew of other wishes are in the process of coming true. The place? Downtown Jackson, where many people's wishes have been granted through the year.

Turner, owner of Detailed Events in downtown Jackson and her friend, Eleanor Caputo, owner of Visual Perceptions Studio 18 Gallery, also in downtown Jackson, created a wish exchange last year. Both placed wish boxes and wish cards in their respective offices where county residents write three wishes and their names and contact information. Every week, the two review the wishes and get to work. Keeping the wishers' names and contact information confidential, they send out mass e-mails to friends and organizations. They make phone calls. They do their best to help grant as many wishes as possible.

Other Jackson businesses have joined their efforts. Wish boxes are set up at the following locations: Rich and Sheri's Wood Carving, Mother Lode Deli, Jose's Mexican Restaurant, Main Street Designs, TSPN and the Ledger Dispatch.

Turner said she has little to do with the wishes coming true. The credit, she added, goes to the several county residents and organizations that are able and willing to donate items to those in need.

Turner added that she and Caputo got the idea to create the wish exchange after the two were talking about how they both wanted to help people without spending any money. She came up with the wish boxes and Caputo came up with the plan to execute their mission. They receive a total of about six wish cards a month, Turner said.

"Maybe half we can make happen," she said. Others are either trivial or too difficult - like a new car.

On Monday, Mike Frachon of Pioneer, who lost his home to a fire over the weekend, learned of Turner and Caputo's wish exchange. He went to Turner's office where she spoke with him and asked him to fill out a wish card. He wished for clothes, shelter and a monetary donation for his family, which includes his wife and two boys, 12 and 6. Within 24 hours, Turner contacted members of the community about Frachon's needs and was able to grant his three wishes and do even more than he asked for.

As of Tuesday, Heaven and Earth Consignment Store in Jackson and Wal-Mart in Martell donated clothes to the family; Jackson Dry Cleaners offered to repair the family's clothes ruined by smoke; The Feed Barn donated cat food for the family's cat; a private citizen donated $50 to the family; the Red Cross was able to extend the family's hotel stay; and, Caputo volunteered to restore the family's photos damaged in the fire. Turner may also be able to get a furnished home for the Frachon family to rent.

Frachon said he is grateful for all the help the community has given him and his family in this tough time. He called Turner a godsend. "She's amazing," he said. "She just started handing me phone numbers and asking me what size clothes my kids wear," he said of his visit to her office on Monday.

When Jackson City Manager Mike Daly learned about the wish exchange, he said he wasn't surprised at all by the community's efforts to provide for others in need.

"There's always been tremendous support in the community for any special emergency need. Whether it's a fire or an illness - organizations and individuals have always stepped up to help," Daly told the Ledger Dispatch Tuesday. "To have somebody coordinate that is a special thing. It's also nice that people in those situations are comfortable enough to come out and ask for support."

When people ask her why she does this, Turner tells them she just wants to make a difference. "I don't want anything - I just want to help fill a wish."

When she was younger, Turner's grandmother told her to keep a gratitude journal, where she would write five things she was thankful for that day. This project, Turner said, is sort of an extension of that. "If other business owners want to do it, they can, too," Turner said. "It only takes me about an hour a month to type e-mails and make some calls."

"These people are helping each other out," Caputo said. "The bigger (the gift exchange) gets, the more we become a community of giving. You don't have to have money, you just have to have what the person needs."

Some of the wish list items that Turner and Caputo are currently seeking include: fire wood for a family, a prosthetic leg for a local veteran, a nurse uniform for a single mother, a quilt for a baby, a used computer for children, furniture for Frachon and his family, and drapes and money to pay for electricity for a family.

The first wish, granted about a year ago, was for children who needed clothes. After learning of the wish, a resident donated a $100 gift card to Wal-Mart to the family.

"I didn't know what to think," Turner said when asked what it was like to help someone's wish come true for the first time. "We were both kind of giddy."

For questions about the project or to place wishes via the phone, call Turner at 223-1972.