World Wish Day
Founded by the Make-a-Wish program, World Wish Day is dedicated to making dreams come true. Spread awareness, apply for the program, or start a wish jar of your own.
Partner with Make-A-Wish to drive donations, volunteer sign-ups, and cause-marketing campaigns that align brand values with children's health and hope.
- Share real wish-granting stories from Make-A-Wish beneficiaries to inspire giving
- Launch a matching-gift campaign or employee volunteer day tied to World Wish Day
- Create a 'wish jar' social media challenge encouraging followers to donate or nominate deserving children
- Feature behind-the-scenes content showing how donations directly fund wish experiences
It was the wish of seven-year-old Leukaemia sufferer Chris Greicius to become a police officer. When police heard about this they wanted to help and granted his wish. Young Chris was a police officer for one day on the 29th of April 1980. Others heard about this and thought that granting wishes for sick children was a good idea. So, the Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded and became one of the best-known children’s charities in the world.
This led to the birth of World Wish Day – the anniversary of the day the police granted Chris’ wish. There are now 48 countries involved in World Wish Day. People celebrate wish-granting across the globe by making dreams come true for sick children. Anyone who wants to get involved in this celebration can spread the word using social media sites, donate money to charity or refer a child they know.
World Wish Day has taken place every year since 2010. When the day first started, it marked the 30th anniversary of the day that Chris Greicius had his dream made. We would definitely recommend reading up on the story of Chris and the day he had. It is heart-warming, to say the least! Chris wanted to catch the bad guys and he loved playing policeman, and his dream came true.
Lt. Col. Dick Schaefer presented Chris with an old police badge of his and a “Smokey Bear” hat for the day. Plus, he swore in Chris as the first honorary DPS officer of Arizona (and only one for that matter!). The officers even made sure that there was an official police uniform made especially Chris. The uniform arrived at the hospital on the 1st of May, and Chris was delighted to wear it. Sadly, Chris’s battle with leukemia was lost a mere two days later.
It was heartbreaking, but there is a small comfort knowing that he spent his last few days achieving his dreams, and many other children have been able to do this too. There are some beautiful photos of Chris in his police officer uniform online.
Check with the Make a Wish Foundation
One way to do this is by filling in the inquiry form at Make-A-Wish Foundation if you know someone who fulfils the criteria that are in place. If you know someone who deserves their dreams to be made, yet they do not fulfil the Make-A-Wish Foundation, you could try to find another way for their wishes to come true. This could include fundraising and getting a group of people together who can help to make the person’s wish a reality.
Learn More About Wishes
Another way that you can spend World Wish Day is by reading up on some of the amazing wishes that have been granted to children all over the world by the remarkable foundation. If you take a look at the Make-A-Wish Foundation website, you will be able to read all of the stories about children and their wishes. From wanting to go to a sports game to being a police officer for the day, there are many different wishes that children want to come true. Not only can you read about their amazing stories, but you can also donate to different wishes to help them come true. This is definitely one of the most amazing things that you can do on World Wish Day.
Watch a Film About Wishes
There are a lot of television shows and movies that relate to people making their wishes come true. We couldn’t think of a better film for World Wish Day than The Fault in our Stars. This is an American drama and romance film that was released in 2014. It follows the story of a 16-year-old cancer patient, Grace Lancaster, who is forced to attend a support group by her parents. She meets another cancer patient, Augustus Waters, and they fall on love, going on an incredible yet heartbreaking journey together. We recommend having a box of tissues handy for this one! So, how does this film relate to making a wish? Well, in the film, there is a fictional organization called “Genies” that is very much like Make-A-Wish, and this enables Hazel and Augustus to go to Amsterdam together so that Hazel can visit her favorite author. We won’t give away anything else!
Create a Wish Jar
A final suggestion for World Wish Day is to create your own wish jar for you and your family. You can encourage all family members to write their wishes on a piece of paper and fold them up, placing the paper inside of the jar. One wish, one piece of paper – that’s the rule! You and others can then sneak into the wish jar when no one else is around and try to make people’s dreams come true. You may not be able to grant all of the wishes right away, but it gives everyone in the family something to work toward. You can then experience the sheer joy on your loved ones’ faces when their dreams become a reality.