Deciding what organizations to support can be a challenge. But Sedona resident Barbara Vickers sought to change that when she founded Sedona Wish List back in 2010. Sedona Wish List is an online database of different local organizations that are searching for volunteers, donations or specific goods. People have given trucks, dog dishes and even refrigerators. In the past decade, Sedona Wish List has grown from five to more than 100 listed organizations including schools, the police station and the fire department. If Barbara’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s lived in Sedona since 1979 and has been involved with many different causes. Barbara started Uptown Sedona Halloween and Airport Day (she’s a pilot) at the Sedona Airport and once sat on the board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters. CEO and founder Barbara and Astara Fisher (pronounced “As-STAR-a”) both run Sedona Wish List. Astara – who once worked for The United Way in Washington state – serves as its director. She’s held the job since 2013. She writes a weekly column showcasing what organizations in town need for the Sedona Red Rock News that has a devoted following. We spoke with both Barbara and Astara about the history of Sedona Wish List, success stories and the most rewarding parts of their jobs. Learn more at sedonawishlist.org
SEDONA MONTHLY: When and why did you start Sedona WishList?
BARBARA VICKERS: It’s a very easy date to remember: 10/10/10. We lucked out. We’ve just had our tenth anniversary. I’ve lived here since 1979. I’ve been in a lot of organizations, and I know the town very well. I had a real estate company after being a sculptor. I was finally retired, and when my late husband died, I had to sell the business to take care of him and move to a house that had one floor. I was basically not doing a lot. But something kept hitting me as needed in the community. It was just put in my mind. We have a lot of nonprofits in town, and we have a very charitable town. The community and the nonprofits were not connected. The nonprofits needed a lot of things. I knew this. And the community had a lot of money. I knew this. But there was no connection. And this kept bothering me over and over and over again. I kept thinking, it should be really easy to make a connection, and I can do it with a website. So one thing we can’t do is figure out how successful it’s been. I have story after story about the successes and who’s gotten what. But we’ve not been able to get the nonprofits to put it into writing somewhere. They’re just too busy to say thank you.
You say it’s hard to measure success. But can you tell us any success stories?
BARBARA: There are two stories about the Sedona Humane Society. They asked for towels for the dogs and cats, and they got a truckload of them. And another time I was trying to find out from them how successful Sedona Wish List was. They had an ad up for a specific dog toy. So I went to the local pet mart, and I asked the clerk, “Do you have this?” And he said, “Well, the funny thing is we had them, but all of a sudden lots of people came in and just bought it out.” That’s one way we can figure out how successful it is.
You maintain the Sedona Wish List website and have a weekly newspaper column addressing the wants and needs of the organizations on your site. Do you do anything else for the local nonprofits?
ASTARA FISHER: We’re also proactive. We seek out organizations that we know might need some help tied into the time of year, the season, what we know they’ve done in the past. We have quite a history of working with nonprofits and service organizations. We built it up from five to over 100. It’s like an iceberg. You only see the tip of it. You don’t see what’s really underneath. You see the resort town, but you often don’t see this other stuff going on. So we have a hand on the pulse of what’s really going on because we have a history of working with these nonprofits.
What are some of your proudest moments on the job?
BARBARA: I got Philanthropist of the Year for it one year from the City of Sedona just for creating this and putting it out there. That was a proud moment for sure.
ASTARA: For me, it might have been when I got The Giving Angels [a nonprofit dedicated to serving independent, low-income seniors in the Verde Valley] connected with the Hopi Projects. I knew they were down on getting stuff up to the rez. The Giving Angels was really quite proactive in the community, and they were connected with the Verde Valley School, which has a service component to what they do. Putting two and two together, it came out to be something greater than what they could have each obtained by themselves. For me, I’m most proud of when I get that happening.
Is there anything you want people to know about your organization or you personally?
BARBARA: I’m just consumed with happiness that I’m able to do this for people. My biggest wish in the world would be to get every town in this country to have this because it’s such a boon for the city without paying much of anything. And it’s just so easy. I’ve gotten to the point where I put on some years and have medical problems, and so it’s not going to be me that does it. If Astara carries on that way, that would be wonderful. Whether she will or not, but that’s up to her.
What do you think makes Sedona such a charitable town?
BARBARA: It is people that are looking for community as well as beauty. And without the community, it didn’t have as much attraction.
Why should someone consider checking out your website?
ASTARA: Why they might want to be engaged is because, somehow, their heart speaks to them. And they feel, maybe, something lacking, and they want to help. And they feel more engaged when they do. They feel more alive when they do. They feel like they’re really making a difference.
BARBARA: Because they’d like to be part of the community, and they find a place for themselves because of this website. They shop around for where they think would be fun to be a volunteer. That’s my joy: being able to do something that helps people.
