What is Make-A-Wish's mission?
The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Southern Florida (and all chapters) is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

How is Make-A-Wish structured?
There are 67 Make-A-Wish chapters covering the United States and 28 affiliates of Make-A-Wish Foundation International. The Southern Florida chapter serves children in 13 counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee, Highlands, Monroe, Hendry, Glades, Collier and Lee. Our biggest cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Key West, Naples, and Fort Myers.

When did Make-A-Wish get their start?
In 1980, Christopher Grecius, a young boy from Phoenix, Arizona, wished to be an Arizona State Trooper for a day. Chris' magical wish was fulfilled when the Arizona Department of Public Safety arrived by helicopter to pick him up, take him for a cool "ride" around the city, fit him with his own uniform, and swear him in as an honorary State Trooper. Click here for the rest of Chris' story. Since Chris' wish was granted, we haven't stopped! More than 151,000 wishes have been granted by Make-A-Wish chapters. The Southern Florida chapter was founded in 1983.

How many wishes does the Southern Florida chapter grant?
This past year, we granted the wishes of 514 Southern Florida children and have granted more than 6,500 wishes in our history.

Who is eligible to receive a wish?
Wish children can be referred by their doctors, social workers, other health care professionals, family members, or even themselves! Once we receive a referral, we contact the child's physician to verify eligibility. Each wish child MUST: be between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18, be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition, live or be treated in one of the counties in our territory, not have been granted a wish by our chapter or any other chapter.

What is the average cost of wishes you grant?
Thanks to the generosity of our in-kind donors and the dedication of our volunteers, the average cost of each wish granted in the Southern Florida chapter is just $5,000.

How much does each family have to spend on a wish?
Nothing. Our wish families have enough to worry about. When they are traveling to Disney World, to see snow, or to meet their favorite celebrities, we pay for everything, including spending money for souvenirs to help them remember their one-of-a-kind experience.

How do you raise the money it takes to grant those wishes?
We finance our endeavors through corporate sponsorships, special events, foundation grants and individual contributions. The Foundation does not solicit funds by telephone and receives no government funding.

What do wish children wish for?
"I want to go to Disney World!" is by far the number one request of our wish children. Popular requests also include: computer, travel, shopping spree, home electronics, and meeting celebrities. Wishes generally fall into one of four categories: to have (a computer), to go (on a shopping spree), to meet (Dan Marino), or to be (a firefighter).

I received a solicitation call from Make-A-Wish. Was that your chapter?
Absolutely NOT. No Make-A-Wish chapter will ever call you asking for money. Please be careful when answering these types of calls - ask lots of questions, take notes, and pass the information along to us. We prosecute these individuals aggressively.

How much of my donation will go toward overhead expenses?
79 cents of every dollar we spend goes toward granting wishes.

How can I volunteer my time?
Visit the volunteer page on our web site. The page will explain the different types of volunteer jobs available – you can also access a Volunteer Interest Form to fill out and submit on-line. You will be called when the next mandatory Volunteer Information Session is scheduled for your area. We have more than 550 volunteers who are the lifeblood of our organization.

My question didn't get answered. Can you still help me?
E-mail your question here or call us. We'll answer it for you.