2. Making wishes come true for children with life threatening illnesses!

4. * The Mission: * “We grant the wishes of children with life- threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.” * -Make-A-Wish mission

5. * Ways to Help Donate Money Donate Airline Miles Adopt a wish Online Fundraising Walk to Wishes Become a Sponsor Kids for Wish Kids School Fundraisers Donate Items

6. * A wish coming true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions. For many, the wish marks a turning point in the fight against their illnesses. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals say, the wish experience works in concert with medicine to make their patients feel better emotionally and even physically. That is why wishes matter.

7. Spending the day with the Stanley Cup Toured a Gaming Studio Becoming a Cowboy Meeting the Minnesota Vikings Meeting WWE John Cena Getting a Doll House Bedroom Makeover Going to Disney World Meeting St. Louis Cardinals Wishes that were Granted:

8. * Improved Health Status * Health professionals who treat wish kids, including nurses and doctors, overwhelmingly believe that the wish experience can improve a wish kids’ physical health. * Most health professionals say a wish come true has the potential to be a positive turning point in the child’s battle for health. * Parents and volunteers observe that a wish come true makes kids feel stronger and more energetic. * Wish kids are more willing to comply with difficult, but vital, treatment regimens. * Parents and medical professionals alike describe the wish experience as a frequent turning point in wish kids’ battles for health.

9. * Enhanced State of Mind * Children and their parents alike experience more happiness and less fear in their lives. * Children are less isolated from friends, and feel a return of self-confidence that comes with feeling “normal” again. * They are empowered to take back control of their lives, and to keep up the fight against their life-threatening medical conditions. * Parents say their family units – often strained to the limit by stresses of the illnesses – are repaired and strengthened through the shared experience of the wish process.

10. * Strengthened Communities * Volunteers feel an increased sense of compassion and desire to help others in their community. * They feel a renewed faith in humanity. * They trust others more and feel more optimistic about the future. * They feel a greater long-term commitment to philanthropy.

11. * A wish is much more than just a nice thing. And its reach extends far beyond a single event, or moment in time. Wish kids, parents, medical professionals, volunteers, and others say that wish experiences can change the lives of everyone involved, forever.

12. * Make-A-Wish ® grants a wish, on average, every 38 minutes and, on average, a child is referred for a wish every 28 minutes. * Every wish experience is driven by the wish kid’s interests, creativity and personality. * Make-A-Wish granted nearly 14,000 wishes in 2012 alone. * To qualify for a wish, a child with a life-threatening medical condition must be older than 2½ years and younger than 18 (at the time of referral) and must not have received a wish from another wish-granting organization. * A child can be referred by a parent or guardian, a medical professional, or by the child. * Following referral, a certified medical professional must verify that the child has a life-threatening medical condition. There are no other qualifications based on sex, race, religion, socioeconomic status or any other demographic category.

13. * Make a Wish Help support this great cause!!!