Wishful Thinking: Make-A-Wish's 40 Years Of Empowering Sick Children
This year, Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana is celebrating 40 years of granting life-changing wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses in our region. Incorporated as Make-A-Wish South Dakota in 1984, they aligned with the Montana chapter in 2020 and now serve children in both states.
The organization has come a long way in those four decades. That first year, six wishes were granted, including one to meet singer John Denver and another to meet the Pope.
"Fast forward to last year, when we granted 108 life-changing wishes, ranging from a wish for an 'Inside the NBA Experience' to wishes to meet famous YouTubers!," says President and CEO Sue Salter. "Every wish is as unique as the child who makes it, filled with imagination and the chance to think big."
Salter says 'thinking big' is pivotal to the power of wishes for sick children. It's something she and her team continually reiterate to both families and healthcare professionals.
"There is sometimes a misconception that if a family who can afford to, say, take their child to Disney World, accepts a wish, that they would be taking a wish away from another child," says Salter. "But that really misses the point."
Not only does Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana have the means to serve all eligible children in their territory, but Salter says the wish process is meant to be empowering for children at a time when so little is within their control.
"It's not just about the wish, it's about the entire journey," says Salter. "A wish gives the child a chance to be the architect of the whole experience. And afterward, they can draw strength from knowing that people they may never even have met cared enough to make their wish come true."
It will be a full year of celebration for the chapter, which has a number of special events planned, but April has been designated 'World Wish Month' at the national level. This year, everyone is encouraged to become a 'WishMaker'.
"A 'WishMaker' is anyone who takes action for wish kids," says Salter. "And there are so many ways to do that. For instance, people can attend an event, volunteer, become a wish granter, make a donation, buy products and services that give back to Make-A-Wish, or donate airline miles."
More than 75 percent of wishes involve air travel, so airline miles are especially appreciated. The donation process is fast and simple via a dedicated website and the donated miles never expire. "A lot of people have miles just sitting in an account that are going to expire," says Salter. "Please donate them."
Healthcare professionals can also be "WishMakers" by starting the Make-A-Wish referral process. To qualify, a child must be between 2.5 and 18 years old and be diagnosed with a critical illness that is either malignant, progressive, or degenerative. Contrary to popular belief, more than 70 percent of wish kids live to adulthood and 87 percent of them say their wish marked a turning point in their illness.
"This is about giving every critically-ill child an experience that they can't get anywhere else," says Salter.
To donate airline miles to Make-A-Wish (which never expire), visit: https://worldwish.org/donate-your-airline-miles/
To refer a child, visit: https://wish.org/refer-a-child