How Wishes Are Granted
A lot of love, kindness, generosity, and hard-but-joyful work goes into fulfilling each child’s wish. From the moment a child is referred, Make-A-Wish Foundation® volunteers, staff, and supporters put heads, hearts, hands, and resources together to make that child’s special Wish Come True!
Why a Wish is Important…
When a child is seriously ill, the whole family is affected. The focus is often on medical treatments and hospital visits, rather than the carefree joys of childhood. Other children in the family sometimes feel forgotten. Vacations and ordinary family fun activities are often put on hold. But the need for joy is still there… and perhaps more important than ever…
Eligibility and Referral…
Any child, who at the time of referral is between the ages of two and a half and under the age of 18, is diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition, and has not already been granted a wish experience from the Make-A-Wish Foundation or any other wish-granting organization, is eligible for a wish.
How a Wish Begins…
If you could have one wish, what would it be? Each child’s wish experience begins with the same question - “If you could go anywhere, meet anyone, be anything, or have anything you most wanted . . . what would it be?”
After a child is referred and eligibility has been established, our specially trained wish-granting volunteers contact the family to arrange an interview. Our volunteers know that each child’s dream is as unique, special and individual as the child who is wishing it and the family who will experience it.
A wish might be a trip to Walt Disney World® Resorts to see Cinderella or a trip to see grandparents in a faraway city. It might be a dream about the future and the chance to be a fashion model, a firefighter, a ballerina, or a corporate executive for a day. A child’s wish might be for a new computer or a shiny new bicycle. Many children want to meet their heroes or their favorite celebrities - a sports figure, a rock singer, a favorite television star. The possibilities are as unlimited as the child’s imagination. And our wish-granting volunteers know just how to engage the child’s imagination.
Once the child’s heartfelt wish is determined and approved, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York sets out to turn that wish into a magical, memorable, life-affirming experience for the whole family.
