Volunteer

Join a caring community of volunteers who transform lives. Together, we can make countless wishes come true. 

Your time and unique talents are critical to bringing strength and hope to wish kids when they need it the most. In fact, our volunteers are at the heart of every wish experience.  

Make-A-Wish volunteers consider their work impactful and meaningful. And, their efforts are rewarded—not in dollars or cents, but in the incredible difference they make in the lives of our wish kids. Volunteers even have the freedom to choose when and how they would like to help transform lives in our community.  

We understand that you want to volunteer but might not know where your skills and talents best lie. Check out our volunteer opportunities and see where you can best help make wishes come true.    

Volunteer Types 
Wish Granter

Wish granters are paired up in twos and meet with the wish child to help determine the wish, complete paperwork with the family and act as a liaison between Make-A-Wish staff and the wish family during the wish process.   

Office Volunteer

Assist with various projects at our Metro New York office, including phone calls, mailings and research.

Events Volunteer

Event volunteers support signature Make-A-Wish fundraising events including annual galas, Toast To Wishes, and various community events. Volunteering at an event provides an inside look into the fundraising side of the foundation. Volunteers need to have a flexible evening or weekend schedule for this role.  

Medical Outreach Volunteer

Work with the team to educate medical and community partners on eligibility requirements and the referral process of potential wish children.  Conduct intake assessments with families over the phone. 

Wish Consultant/Vendor

As a Wish Consultant, you can help elevate a child's wish experience by using your professional expertise in industries such as interior design, construction, computers, event planning, and so much more. You'll be a liaison between staff and vendors as specialized purchases are considered and help offset the cost of a wish with industry discounts, in-kind, and valuable connections, allowing us to stretch our funds to grant more wishes.

We rely on our partners in the business community to supply the wished-for goods and services that bring such joy to the children we serve.

Skill-Based Volunteer

Use your professional skills and knowledge on an as-needed basis to provide much-needed skills such as reading and writing in multiple languages, graphic design, photography, landscaping, painting, contracting and more.  

Wish Family Ambassador

Open to wish alumni and their families, represent Make-A-Wish at a number of external outreach and fundraising events to share your wish experience.  

Community Connector

Borough Community Councils 

When Make-A-Wish Metro New York realized that children in the outer boroughs of New York City were waiting longer to get their wishes granted because of an insufficient number of volunteers, we set our sights on lowering their wait time. 

A large part of our initiative included creating Community Councils in Brooklyn and the Bronx in January 2018.  The members of our Community Councils are community leaders willing to raise awareness and support of the Make-A-Wish mission throughout their networks. They help to increase medical referrals of kids, foster strategic volunteerism within their community, and connect with potential donors. The effort was expanded to include a Staten Island Community Council in January 2020 and a Queens Community Council in 2022. Members are required to attend wish-granting training and serve for a one-year term.   

For more information please contact Valerie Nolasco at [email protected].

Other Opportunities to Connect

Expanding our network of allies in the communities we serve is the only way we will achieve our vision of reaching every eligible child. Increased engagement within the communities we serve will foster local volunteerism and connections to public hospitals and outpatient clinics to help us reach children we had previously missed.

There are many ways you can make connections for Make-A-Wish to your community - to both people we can help and people who can help us.

For more information please contact Valerie Nolasco at [email protected].

How to Get Started

Your Make-A-Wish Journey Starts Today 

At every level of the organization, volunteers are critical to the mission. Get started today and soon you can bring hope and joy to local children with critical illnesses as a Make-A-Wish volunteer.  

For more details and an application to volunteer, please contact [email protected] if you are in the Metro New York area or Stephanie Kowalski at [email protected] if you are in the Western New York area.

Areas of Need

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Make-A-Wish Metro New York and Western New York. We are currently only accepting wish granting volunteers in select areas.  

Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in granting wishes to our kids in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island or are bilingual.   

Please contact Stephanie Kowalski at [email protected] if you are interested in granting wishes to our kids in Ontario, Seneca, Schuyler, Wayne, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Geneseo and Wyoming counties.