Chris Barr

Make-A-Wish is an incredible organization providing hope and inspiration to children facing undeserved medical challenges. Covid has significantly increased the time and costs it takes for us to grant Wishes. Please consider donating to Make-A-Wish to help us grant these Wishes as quickly as possible.

• Every year, thousands of parents deal with the news of a child’s life-threatening diagnosis. Childhood is changed as playdates are replaced with appointments, procedures, and treatment. Make-A-Wish® transports children to a world of possibility, offering hope, strength, and joy when it is needed most. Our mission is simple, yet powerful: Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
• Wishes are Essential and can Heal! We know that the anticipation of a wish inspires children, their families and care teams, as well as entire communities, giving a child an edge in their fight. The 2022 Wish Impact Study found that wish alumni, parents, and medical providers overwhelmingly agree that the wish experience contributes substantially to physical, mental, and emotional health. When a wish is granted, a child replaces fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope!
• Wishes are local. Founded in 1983 and having granted nearly 10,000 wishes, Make-A-Wish Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada celebrates 40 years of delivering on the promise only a wish can provide and aims to grant the wish of every eligible child. Because of the backlog created by the pandemic, we find ourselves facing the largest list of waiting wish kids our chapter has ever seen. Right now, there are nearly 725 children with critical illnesses in our 41-county region waiting for their wishes to be granted –waiting for hope. Every month our chapter receives on average 34 new referrals. And the primary reason these families are waiting is funding.

• Just like all families look forward to summer travel, so do our wish families who following a critical diagnosis have faced treatments and procedures that may have limited their plans until now. Right now, you can help grant wishes for these children and bring a splash of joy to their lives, the lives of their families and for everyone involved in making these travel wishes come true.
• The need is especially urgent as we face higher costs in wish-granting, and perhaps most notably related to travel. With increases in rental car prices, airfare and lodging, support is needed now to help us grant more wishes.