There are many more details that will be communicated to you throughout the wish process and you are also welcome to ask questions specific to your child and wish process at any time. We are excited to grant a special and unique wish for your child!
Welcome to Make-A-Wish!Read more about what to expect when granted a wish.
The average length of the wish process is 12 months from the time the child is referred until the wish is granted. Specifically, waiting to be matched with a Wish Team can take several weeks. You are welcome to check in on the status of your child’s wish at any time.
Wish granters are the volunteers who have been trained to meet with you and your child for a wish visit. During the visit, your child will have opportunity to share his/her wish ideas and narrow down a first and second choice if there are multiple ideas. The Wish Team will complete necessary forms to begin planning a wish. Make-A-Wish staff will then follow up with the family for additional paperwork and information.
All wish granters go through a screening and vetting process. They must pass a background check, complete a conflict of interest form and attend Wish Granting training. Once they meet these requirements they are assigned to your child as a pair (aka Wish Team), taking into consideration language, geography and experience.
The Idea Book (English | Spanish) is sent to kids when they are found eligible for a wish and is age-appropriate. This allows him/her to begin thinking of wish ideas and noting them down. When the Wish Team come for the wish visit they will ask your child about his/her ideas as well as what he/she imagines as details for the wish.
Wishes tend to fall into four categories: Wish to Be, Wish to Have, Wish to Go, Wish to Meet. We have also seen ideas around Wish to Give. If your child’s wish doesn’t fall into any of these categories, please still share it on the wish paperwork and we will discuss options. It is always best to share several wish ideas in case one particular wish idea is not possible. The Idea Book (English | Spanish) can help guide your conversation with your child about wish ideas.
Each wish is reviewed individually and is as unique as each child. We cannot grant wishes for vehicles (cars, boats, etc), homes, firearms or cash. There are age restrictions for certain wish types. There are also restrictions on travel to countries with U.S. State Department travel advisories. Wish restrictions will be communicated to you as they become relevant.
The wish process can be placed on hold if you are not yet ready to move forward with the wish process due to your child’s current medical treatments or other family situations that need priority attention. This hold is essentially a pause in the process and will be for a specified time period upon review by Make-A-Wish staff. You can discuss this option with our team at any point in the process.
Families do not have to contribute cash in order to receive a wish. Covered expenses will be outlined and explained to you when the wish is approved and, in some cases, spending money to use on the wish experience is given in the form of a debit card.
We do not ask for any proof of income or immigration status. However, immigration status may impact your ability to travel so please keep that in consideration when discussing wish ideas with your child.
There are several layers of approval required for a wish to take place:
If a particular wish cannot be granted due to guidelines or medical concerns, your child will be given opportunity to select a new wish. Please note that guidelines vary among the many chapters of Make-A-Wish and can change at any time. Approval guidelines will be communicated to you as they become relevant.
Generally, the wish can include 2 adults and siblings that live in the wish child’s home (under the age of 18) to be part of the wish experience. If the child requires nursing care, a nurse may be considered based on recommendation of the child’s medical team.
If you share that your child does not communicate verbally, we will send you a Communication Profile for you to complete and send back to us. This will allow us to better understand how your child communicates and some of his/her interests. We will also send a Communication Profile to be completed by a professional who is familiar with how your child communicates. This can be a doctor, teacher or social worker. We ask for the child to still be present during the wish interview, and we understand that you will likely be speaking on behalf of your child in determining a wish.