Giving Back Make A Wish Eastern North Carolina
Today I am honored to have my friend Laura write about an organization that has my heart. That is the Make A Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina.
Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit that grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.
Granting Wishes Locally
Most people have heard of Make-A-Wish—images of children with big smiles come to mind. But, did you know there are more than 60 Make-A-Wish chapters that focus exclusively on granting local wishes?
Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina grants wishes to children who live in the 49 North Carolina counties we serve. When you support our chapter, you are directly funding wishes right here in our local communities. We recently granted our 3,500th wish, and we currently have over 300 children waiting for their wish to come true.
Wishes Matter
A wish come true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, and more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions. For many of them, it marks a turning point in their fight against their illness. The wish experience works in concert with medicine to make children feel better, emotionally and even physically. Most adult former wish kids say their wish experiences helped save their lives.
A recent national survey of the Make-A-Wish community, including healthcare professionals, wish families, and volunteers, found that:
- 99% of parents reported that the wish experience gave their children increased feelings of happiness.
- 89% of healthcare professionals surveyed say they believe that the wish experience can influence wish kids’ physical health.
- 97% of wish families observe increases in their wish kids’ emotional health.
- 81% of parents observe an increased willingness by their wish kids to comply with treatment protocols.
- 97% of volunteers reported feeling more grateful and thankful as a result of helping to grant a wish.
Now is the Time
Our chapter’s first wish was granted in 1986 to an 8-year-old boy named Benny. Benny’s one wish was to meet his favorite wrestlers during a special show in his hometown of Raleigh. Benny did not let his struggle with leukemia hinder his love of wrestling and neither did Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina.
Our chapter has come a long way since Benny’s wish. On average, we grant more than one wish every other day in eastern North Carolina. But that is far less than the number of children referred to our chapter and are considered eligible for a wish. You can be a part of helping us close this gap, turning these opportunities into stories of triumph and renewal.
Get Involved
Wish granting is made possible only by the generous donations from individuals, companies, foundations, schools, and organizations in our local community. You can share the power of a wish in a number of ways:
Make a gift: Give online, by mail or phone. You can also make a monthly gift using a debit card or credit card. And, consider including Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina in your will.
Events: Attend or participate in one of our signature events or host an event to benefit Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina. Become a WISH Champion and raise funds to grant a wish.
Wishmakers At Work®: Companies can provide support through sponsorship of our signature events, payroll deductions, corporate matching gifts, employee giving campaigns, frequent flyer miles or hotel rewards points.
Wishes in Flight®: Donate your frequent flyer miles to send children on their wish of a lifetime. Once the miles are donated, they never expire! Every mile counts.
Volunteer: We are grateful for our family of more than 250 volunteers who allow us to serve families across eastern North Carolina! Serve as a wish granter, assist with fundraising, host and help with events, sponsor a Kids for Wish Kids® event, or work in our office on a variety of projects.
To learn more, call 800-432-WISH (9474) or visit our website: http://eastnc.wish.org/. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[su_box title=”About the Author” box_color=”#abbeef”]Laura is the currently a wish coordinator for Make A Wish® Eastern North Carolina[/su_box]
Similar Posts:
- None Found
