You can help bring childhood back
Our WishMaker community needs you! 97% of wish children and their parents said the wish brought them joy and happiness. You can help bring the power of a wish to every child facing critical illness.
Become a WishMaker today by donating, fundraising, or signing up to support our mission.
Make a Donation
Making a donation is the simplest way of supporting our mission. Your regular donation can secure the wishes of children diagnosed with critical illnesses and help us plan for the future.
Fundraise In Your Community
Increase your impact by turning to your passion, hobby or network to raise funds for Make-A-Wish International.
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WishMakers Wanted
Each April, in honor of the founding wish, Make-A-Wish is recruiting the next generation of WishMakers. Because wishes don’t come true by luck or chance. They come true because of WishMakers who donate, fundraise or lend their voice to our cause. We are powered by their passion. We depend on their talents. We grant more wishes because of their continuous commitment and support to a cause bigger and more important than themselves.
We are nothing without our WishMakers. But we need more. We need you. Thanks to the positive emotions, strength and long-lasting impact a wish brings, a child and their family have the chance to experience life beyond illness once again. And all it takes to make wishes come true, is you.
Become a WishMaker this World Wish Month!
Jen’s Wish
Six-year-old Jen from New Zealand was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and her family faced an incredibly difficult time. Chemotherapy drained Jen’s energy and changed her once playful spirit. Her mother, Helen, recalled, “Jen wasn’t taking it good. She was upset. Our family was upset as well.”
Jen loves superheroes and wished for “a long stretchy neck” to see everything from up high. Her greatest wish was to fly in a helicopter. When the day arrived, she soared above the city, even spotting her hospital below. “This is so fun! I’m having so much fun!” she cheered. After the ride, she and her family enjoyed a teddy bear’s picnic, making for a perfect ending to a magical day.
Jen’s cancer journey stole much of her childhood, but knowing her wish would come true gave her strength. Wishes bring lasting joy and resilience to children and their families. Jen’s wish was made possible by generous WishMakers—like her wish volunteer, Deana, corporate partners, and donors. But many more children like Jen need you.
The wish that inspired a movement
It started with a single wish on April 29, 1980: 7-year-old Chris, struggling with leukemia, wanted to be a police officer for a day. Six people answered the call, rallied the entire community, and granted a wish that lifted Chris up during his darkest days. These original WishMakers were inspired by the impact the wish had on Chris and vowed to do more. A global movement was born.
Today, Make-A-Wish has been granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses for 44 years, in 50 countries across 6 continents all over the world. More than 615,000 wishes have been granted since then.
But the work is far from done. Thousands of eligible children are waiting for their wishes to be granted. And there are many more we aren’t reaching. As long as children face the devastating reality of a critical illness diagnosis, they’ll need WishMakers to help restore their childhood.