There are lots of ways to pay it forward.

People can do it with small gestures, such as paying for the meal of the person behind them in line at a fast-food restaurant or shoveling snow on a neighbor’s driveway.

But, for Oxford resident Brian Boothe and his 16-year-old daughter, Lily, a small gesture just wouldn’t do when it came to

repaying the kindness that was shown to their family last year when Make-A-Wish Michigan sent them to Walt Disney World in Florida. That was the wish of Chloe Boothe, Brian’s daughter and Lily’s twin sister, who is severely disabled.

That’s why on Saturday, the two of them, along with Brian’s brother-in-law Harris Ng, of Bloomfield, hiked 21 miles in northern Michigan and raised $12,945 (and counting) in donations for the nonprofit organization that’s granted more than 10,000 wishes to children with critical illnesses since 1984.

Calling themselves “Chloe’s Crusaders,” the trio walked the Manistee River Trail/North Country Trail Loop as part of the Third Annual Trailblaze Challenge. It took them eight hours and 20 minutes to complete the journey.

“It was hard, but there was definitely some beautiful scenery and perfect weather – (you) couldn’t ask for better weather,” Brian said. “It was difficult. It was harder than I expected, but it felt good to come through (in the end).”

The Trailblaze Challenge is an annual fund-raiser for Make-A-Wish Michigan, which granted 400 wishes last year. The event is a hike, not a race, and caters to all fitness levels. The goal of the 2019 Trailblaze Challenge was to raise $125,000 and so far, $120,046 in donations have come in.

Lily believes Make-A-Wish Michigan’s work is vital because it “gives hope” to children and families “who may not have a lot of hope in their lives.”

“It gives them a break and let’s them be normal kids. It provides them with . . . happiness or joy at a time when they might need it,” she said.

Last October, Make-A-Wish Michigan sent the Boothe family to Disney World for a week. While there, the family stayed at Give Kids The World Village, an 84-acre, nonprofit resort that provides cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families.

The trip was the result of Lily and her brother, Gabe, submitting an on-line application on behalf of their sister Chloe.

“Last summer, my sister was having a really hard time with some medical issues (that made it difficult for her to do things) outside of the house,” Lily said. After seeing an online ad for Make-A-Wish Michigan and doing a little reading about its mission, she decided “it might be worth a shot” to apply.

Chloe deals with a number of challenges in her daily life. She has cerebral palsy, scoliosis and epilepsy. Chloe is non-verbal, wheelchair-bound and 100 percent dependent on her parents for care.

“We’ve found ways to communicate with her,” Brian said.

Because of Chloe’s health issues and physical limitations, Brian said, “As a family, we don’t get to travel that often. It’s very difficult.”

But, thanks to Make-A-Wish Michigan, the trip to Disney World was easy and stress-free. Every detail was taken care of and every need was catered to. For example, Brian loved how his wife, Kirsten, and Chloe got to fly first class so there was “enough room” for his daughter to “stretch out.”

Once they arrived in Florida, the Boothes wanted for nothing as they experienced non-stop fun together.

“It was truly life-changing,” Lily said. “It gave us a lot of hope and relaxation (at) a time when we really needed it. We got a little break from all the chaos of everyday medical issues.”

The trip was good for the whole family, but it was especially good for Chloe.

“She had a smile on her face the whole time,” Brian said. “Disney goes out of their way to go above and beyond for children with special needs.”

Brian was thrilled that famous Disney characters kept coming up to Chloe and interacting with her. “Chloe just loved that part,” he said. “That was probably my favorite part.”

Lily agreed that Chloe “truly loved” the whole experience. “It helped a lot and got her mind off of a lot of the stuff (that was) going on,” she said.

Finding activities that Chloe could participate in “was so much easier (at Disney World) than anywhere else we’ve gone,” Lily noted. “She was included, which is her favorite part about doing things with the family.”

Lily said she and her dad plan to continue raising money for Make-A-Wish Michigan by hiking in next year’s Trailblaze Challenge and potentially training for the 50-mile Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour, another fund-raising event.