Once upon a time a 7 year old boy was granted a wish… to be a police officer for the day.
That was 30 years ago… That one wish 30 years ago inspired the founding of what we know today as the Make-A-Wish® program. Since then more than 226,000 wishes have been granted in the U.S. alone.
You can help make a wish happen by following this link.
Just last year, 14,000 wishes were granted to kids with life-threatening medical conditions. “According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can influence the physical health of wish kids. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family.”
Children with life-threatening illnesses and their families go through unimaginable stresses. A wish granted brings hope, strengthens families, provides moments of happiness and inspiration, and helps create strong community bonds.
Imagine being bound by hospital walls, piling medical bills, and little hope to experience even a glimpse of what other families get to experience. Even with perfect health and everyday stresses, families need to be able to escape. Make-A-Wish provides a way for the medically burdened and weighted to escape for a time… to experience a reprieve and the joy of making memories outside of medical treatments and hospital walls without added financial concerns.
We can be part of families being able to experience that.
As we all know, wishes do not come from an ancient bottle with a genie at the ready. Granted wishes come from people like me. People like you. In fact, 75 percent of wishes require air travel…
Approximately 50,000 airline tickets, the equivalent of 2.5 billion airlines miles or $37.5 million, are needed each year to cover the cost associated with sending wish kids and their families to and from these incredible experiences.
Where do the miles/money come from?
Us.
It is easy to donate. We can donate money to purchase tickets or donate flier miles. Maybe your bank account is low, but you know you have some miles adding up. Simply go to wish.org/tickets and donate either. We can help make a profound difference in the lives of children. And families. Every mile and dollar donated reduces wish costs and allows Make-A-Wish to reach more kids.
MORE kids.
It can be hard to know how to help children and family battling life-threatening illness, but here is one way that takes the guess work out of knowing how to help and Make-A-Wish has made it super-simple… donate.
This year, 10,000 wish kids and their families will travel for a Make-A-Wish® experience. That’s 50,000 roundtrip tickets or 2.5 billion frequent flier miles. In honor of World Wish Day®, the day of the wish that inspired the founding of Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org/tickets and donate miles and dollars – and help wish kids take flight.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Make-A-Wish®. The opinions and text are all mine.
