Mission

Make-A-Wish® is the largest wish granting organization in the world, and grants the wishes of children with critical illnesses to enrich their lives with hope, strength and joy at a time when they need it most. 

Total Patient Outcome

A wish come true is more than just a nice thing.  For most children and their families, it’s a vital antidote against the illness they are battling.  A wish come true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions.   

97% of wish families and 96% of health professionals observe increases in the wish kid’s emotional health. 

89% of nurses, doctors, social workers and child life specialists combined believe that the wish experience can influence the wish kid’s physical health. 

74% of parents saw the wish experience as a positive turning point in their child’s battle against their illness.

Local Reach & Scope

Make-A-Wish® Central & Western North Carolina serves the 51 counties from Burlington west.  The chapter has granted more than 5,500 wishes since its inception in 1985, and has never turned down an eligible wish. 

With COVID-19, new health worries are also present, bringing added isolation and vulnerability for wish kids and their families. While fighting their illness, children are now anxiously counting the days until their wish will be granted.

Their families are counting, too. To protect the health of wish kids and their families, Make-A-Wish® has paused wish-granting that involves travel and gatherings until further notice. Right now, there are over 500 local wish kids whose wishes have been postponed because of COVID-19 — and that number grows every day as this crisis continues. Your support helps ensure that, when conditions are safe again, we can grant every one of these wishes as fast as possible. For our wish kids, every day of waiting is one too many.

Who is Eligible

A child with a life-threatening medical condition who has reached the age of 2½ and is younger than 18 at the time of referral is potentially eligible for a wish.

Who Can Refer a Child  

Anyone can initiate the referral process.  Visit nc.wish.org/refer-a-child to get started.

What a Child Can Wish For

The child’s imagination is always the driving force in determining, designing, and coordinating the wish experience.  Most wish requests fall in to five major categories (I wish to GO, I wish to HAVE, I wish to BE, I wish to MEET and I wish to GIVE), but every wish is unique and powerful.