The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a charity that grants wishes of children ages 2½-18 years old who have a life-threatening medical condition. The Foundation has granted the wishes of more than 196,000 children since it started in 1980. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, in 2009, granted 13,465 wishes. A child’s wish is granted every 40 minutes!
According to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, “the most popular wish is to visit a theme park, which accounts for more than 40% of the requests from our wish kids. Typically, children’s wishes fall into four categories: To Be (e.g., a zookeeper, a firefighter, a baker), To Meet (e.g., a favorite celebrity or athlete), To Have (e.g., a computer, a playhouse, a puppy), or To Go (e.g., to a theme park, Hawaii, a major sporting event).”
The Make-A-Wish Foundation provides many ways for the public to help make a child’s wish a reality. Here are some ways you can do so:
- Participate in a promotion that “gives back”. There is a whole list of services and companies participating including 7-Eleven, Creative Memories, and Safety 1st. Many are donating a portion of their proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
- Donate financially. One-time and monthly donations can be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Money can even be donated in honor or memory of someone and a card or certificate can be provided to the donor (or person being honored). This makes a great birthday gift.
- Non-cash gifts are welcome as well. Donate airline miles, building supplies, computer equipment, and hotel loyalty points among other things.
- Volunteer your time and talents. According to their website, “nearly 25,000 volunteers help the Make-A-Wish Foundation maintain its grassroots support by delivering the organization’s mission to seriously ill children across the country. Volunteers serve Make-A-Wish chapters in a variety of capacities, including wish granting, office administrative support, special events, fundraising, language translation and much more.”
- You can also “adopt a wish”. A member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s staff will work directly with you to select a wish. By funding a wish, you can create special memories for a child—and yourself.
I hope I gave you some ideas of how you can help the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There are many other ways people can help and if you would like to learn more you can visit their website.
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