Why We Walk
Participating in Walk For Wishes® is vital.
Wishes have the power to give children hope, strength and joy when they need it most.
Every 34 minutes, Make-A-Wish grants the wish of a child diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition in the United States and its territories. Wishes can increase the physical and emotional well-being of wish kids, and create happy, lifelong memories. In fact, wish experiences are as much about the days that follow, as they are about the wish itself because the impact of a wish can last forever.
Funds raised by Walk For Wishes events support the Make-A-Wish® mission to grant the wish of every eligible child who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.
A wish experience can truly change a child's life, and so can you. Find a Walk For Wishes in your community and join us.
Wish Impact*
A wish come true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions. For many, it marks a turning point in their fight against their illnesses.
- 89% of parents and volunteers observed increases in wish kids’ emotional strength, which can help them improve their health status.
- 81% of parents observed an increased willingness by their wish kids to comply with treatment protocols.
- 75% of parents observed that the wish experience increased wish kids’ physical health and strength
- 74% saw the wish experience as a positive turning point in the wish kids’ battle against their illnesses.
A wish improves children’s state of mind, replacing fear with happiness and helping them to feel like normal kids again.
- 99% of parents reported that the wish experience gave their children increased feelings of happiness, and 91 percent observed that the wish experience decreased their children’s depression or sadness.
- 97% of parents said the wish experience strengthened their families.
* Make-A-Wish® America. “Wish Impact Study Results – Initial Phases: Jan – Dec 2010.” March 2011
