Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America

Founded in 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Why do we exist?

The Make-A-Wish Foundation exists to restore hope, strength and joy to the lives of these children, who are in every community of the United States. Our wish kids are your friends, neighbors and relatives. 

The wishes we grant are as diverse as the children we serve. What unites them is the life-changing potential of every Make-A-Wish® experience. Each wish is carefully planned by caring volunteers – and designed to free wish kids and their families from the burden of facing a life-threatening medical condition. These wishes have the power to change lives, motivate children enduring difficult medical treatments and give them a powerful reason to persevere. 

What have you accomplished?

Since granting our first wish in 1980, we have granted the wishes of more than 195,000 children with life-threatening medical conditions. Many have overcome their conditions, going on to lead fulfilling lives; many now work for our organization, serve on our Board of Directors or volunteer as wish granters, bringing hope, strength and joy to a new generation of wish kids.

Abe is one example. In 1998, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. A year later, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted his wish to celebrate Independence Day with a Caribbean cruise with his family. The allure of that wish, Abe said, gave him something to look forward to while being treated – and it helped shape his character. Today, he is cancer-free and is the volunteer manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley.

“Once you’ve been touched by the power of a wish,” he says, “it will live on in you forever.”

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