From Heartbreak to Help: The Story Behind a Colstrip Nonprofit Changing Lives

My eyes may have gotten a little watery while writing this story today. As parents, we all share a quiet, universal hope: that our kids get to just be kids. School, sports, messy bedrooms, laughter around the dinner table... the ordinary moments we sometimes take for granted are actually everything. That’s why the mission behind Syd’s Wish hits so close to home.

Based in Colstrip, this Montana nonprofit was founded in 2017 after the passing of Sydney Hedges, a young woman whose impact continues to ripple far beyond the years she was given. Her family is originally from Fromberg, and moved to Colstrip several years ago for work.

Syd was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, at just 11 years old. She battled the disease with remarkable strength until her passing at age 17, choosing optimism even on the hardest days. Her message was simple and powerful: There is good in every day. Sometimes we just have to look a little harder to find it.

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors affecting children and adolescents, with close to 5,000 children diagnosed each year. - Johns Hopkins Medicine

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After Syd passed, her family discovered a list she had written.

On it was a wish. Not for herself, but for others. She wanted a nonprofit created so that no child would have to face a medical fight alone. Her family honored that request, and Syd’s Wish was born.

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Since then, the organization has helped more than 100 Montana families facing serious medical challenges, offering support, encouragement, and reminders that their community stands with them. The organization has helped families financially across the state, but the lion's share has been focused on those in the eastern half of Montana.

This year’s Syd’s Wish fundraiser is set for September 13 at the Moose Lodge in Colstrip. The event will feature food trucks, live and silent auctions, and music. It's a gathering designed not just to raise funds, but to celebrate resilience, generosity, and the kind of hope Syd carried with her every day.