Elisa’s Greatest Wishes

Elisa’s Greatest Wishes’ mission is to change the way Elisa Nelson is remembered by carrying on her selfless actions of helping children less fortunate than herself. 

In 1980, 10-year-old Elisa Nelson was riding her bike to Palm Harbor Middle School when she was kidnapped and murdered. This was one of the first cases, of its kind, to make national news and put Palm Harbor at the center of a tragic story. A memorial based upon Elisa’s personality and writings was dedicated in the Palm Harbor Middle School Library and many of Elisa’s former classmates expressed a desire to do something for their lost childhood friend and to help themselves deal with the emotional scars they still carry from living through such a tragedy. 

The organization raises money and donates it, in her honor, to local charities with missions consistent with Elisa’s personality, for examp