A Parent`s Guide to Wishing - Make-A

A Parent’s Guide to Wishing
Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................... 3
What to Expect ......................................................................................................................... 4
Contact with the Media ........................................................................................................ 4
What Will Be Expected of Me? ................................................................................................. 5
Your Child’s True Wish ............................................................................................................ 6
Types of Wishes..................................................................................................................... 6
Volunteer Role....................................................................................................................... 6
Are there wishes the Foundation cannot grant? .................................................................. 7
Our Goal ................................................................................................................................ 7
Wish Costs and Limitations ................................................................................................. 8
Is my family responsible for paying a portion of my child’s wish? ...................................... 8
What if my child’s wish choice is not possible? .................................................................... 9
Who can participate in the wish? ......................................................................................... 9
Forms and Signatures .............................................................................................................10
Approval and Scheduling ........................................................................................................11
Approval of the Wish ...........................................................................................................11
Scheduling the Wish ............................................................................................................11
Unexpected Change in Health .............................................................................................11
Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................12
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Overview
W
ander…
through your memories to the time you were a child. What did you love?
What made your heart beat faster? Where did you dream of going? Who
was your hero? What made the sun rise? What were your last thoughts
when you were going to sleep? What did you dream you would one day
be?
I
magine…
that you have a wish. Close your eyes and experience the magic of
wishing. Imagine how a wish would feel, a wish that could come true.
S
top…
and let your child do the rest. Children wish so beautifully all by
themselves!
H
old…
your child’s hand and reach for the stars together. Forget adult cares and
worries, thoughts of bills, hospitals, and treatment plans. Allow your child to
reach out for the wish that will come true, reach out for hope, strength,
and joy!
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What to Expect
As a parent you can be assured that we have your child’s best interest at heart. We
are thrilled to have been invited into your lives through the granting of this wish and, as
much as we enjoy working with you to make your child’s dream come true, you owe us
nothing in return. The decision to continue your relationship with Make-A-Wish® MidAtlantic as a Wish Ambassador, volunteer or friend of the Foundation is yours to make
once the wish is complete.
Now that your child has been qualified for our program you can expect us to:
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Make every effort to provide hope, strength and joy to your child through the
granting of his/her most heartfelt wish.
Include parent(s), guardian(s) and siblings (under the age of 18) who reside with
the wish child, in the wish and try our best to make all of you feel special (other
sibling participants will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis).
Provide a team of wish-granting volunteers to work with you who are welltrained, responsible, caring and respectful; we pride ourselves on offering the
best customer service at all times.
Cover all expenses necessary to the granting of the wish for approved
participants.
Make all of the arrangements for your child’s wish to become a reality.
Be available to answer your questions and address your concerns throughout the
wish-granting process.
Make every effort to understand and accommodate unique challenges that
may impact your child’s ability to communicate or participate in the wish
granting process.
If your child is not ready for a wish at this time, please contact our Wish/Intake
Coordinator at 301-962-WISH(9474) to discuss placing the wish-granting process on hold.
Contact with the Media/Using Social Media
The wish planning process is an exciting time for you,
your child and community. If you would like to help
chronicle your wish experience via social media
platforms, we encourage you to do so! Please be
sure to tag the chapter in any of your posts so we
can enjoy your photos and wish along with you.
Your local media is great way to share your child’s
wish story; however, we ask that you do not
contact the media before, during or after the wish.
If you would like to share your wish experience with the
media, please contact our office at 301-962-WISH(9474). The chapter’s Director of
Communications and Community Relations will then work with you and your wish team
to share your child’s inspirational story with the public.
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What Will Be Expected of Me?
When granting your child’s wish, we expect that you will:
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Welcome our trained wish-granting volunteers to work closely with your child in
determining his/her wish. The suggestions of parents and siblings may distract
your child from choosing what will bring them the most joy.
Assist us in completing the necessary paperwork, obtaining the necessary
signatures, and providing the necessary forms and photocopies to expedite the
wish and keep planning on track.
If your child has special communication needs, please let us know before the
volunteers visit so we can plan with you the appropriate strategies to engage
him/her.
Welcome our wish-granting volunteers into your home, hospital room or other
location so that they may assist our office and your family in achieving our goal
to bring hope, strength and joy to your child through the granting of a wish. We
encourage all family members to be ready for the volunteers when they arrive.
We also suggest that only immediate family be present at the first family visit.
Allow us creative freedom while granting your child’s wish. This means there will
be some surprises and lots of magic during the course of the wish! We prefer not
to share all the details of the wish with the child and/or family for this reason.
Information that you will need to request time off of work or to help us with the
fulfillment of the wish, etc. will be provided to you.
Understand that as hard as we try, we are not able to grant every wish request or
every aspect of a wish request. We are confident in our ability to provide a
wonderful experience for your child and family even if we must fall back on
another choice.
Our greatest hope is that we are successful in providing a carefree, magical and
memorable experience for your family. If during the course of this process, however,
you feel that this is not the right time for a wish or that we are not the organization to
make your child’s dreams come true, please share these feelings with us. Feel free to
contact our Manager of Wish Granting at 301-962-WISH(9474.)
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Your Child’s True Wish
“The child’s imagination is the heart of the wish and nothing should tarnish its magic.”
Types of Wishes
Wishes usually fall into four categories:
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“I wish to go…” – Travelling to a special destination
“I wish to have…” – A special gift item, computer, shopping adventure, etc.
“I wish to meet…” – A favorite celebrity, musician, actor, sports hero, etc.
“I wish to be…” – A cowboy, author, princess, etc.
A wonderful, magical wish can be created based on the child’s interests such as golf,
fishing, cooking, love of the beach, etc. Give us an inch and we’ll take you a mile. Our
goal is to create the most amazing wish possible for your child.
Volunteer Role
The most important job of our wish-granting volunteers is to
discover the true wish of each child. Although a child may
receive suggestions from others as to what they should
choose, it is the desire of the child that will determine what
the wish will be. For just one moment, they can think about
themselves…what will bring them joy, what will give them
the strength to keep fighting and what will provide the
hope they need to embrace the future and all that it holds
for them. We grant the wishes of children but are sure to
include the parents/guardians and juvenile siblings as much as possible
and make each member of the family feel special, too.
We typically solicit the feedback of your child’s treating physicians and therapists to
ensure your child’s wish is medically appropriate. Wishes also need to be age
appropriate and directly related to the interests and desires of your child. All wish
requests must receive a final authorization from both the physician and chapter
leadership.
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Your Child’s True Wish, continued
Are there wishes the Foundation cannot grant?
Because Make-A-Wish strives to grant wishes to as many eligible children as possible,
the Foundation can only grant one wish per child. Our staff and wish-granting
volunteers are dedicated to making this experience a truly special one for your child.
Although we try to grant even the most far-fetched wishes and make every dream
come true, there are both National performance standards and chapter policies in
place to insure the safety and well-being of the Wish Child, his/her family and our
organization as well.
Make-A-Wish cannot grant wishes for any of the following:
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Cars, motorcycles or power boats (some motorized vehicles may be considered on a
case-by-case basis)
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Any wish involving firearms
Money or financial assistance
Medical assistance
Housing or structural renovations to a house
Transportation to treatment or airfare to a medical facility
In-ground swimming pools
Disney Land & Sea Packages
Some limits also exist for International Travel
Our Goal
Make-A-Wish will do everything
possible to fulfill your child’s heartfelt
wish. Our goal is to provide a wish
come true for every eligible child in
our area and currently, we have
more than 600 children who are in
the process of receiving a wish! It is
our privilege to provide children with
an uplifting experience to focus on
rather than the day-to-day realities of
their condition.
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Your Child’s True Wish, continued
Wish Costs and Limitations
Given the number of wishes we are committed to fulfilling each year and the increasing
sophistication of the children’s desires, making wishes come true can be very costly. As
a non-profit organization, we rely on the generous donations of supporters in our area.
At Make-A-Wish, we pride ourselves on being good stewards of every donor dollar. We
make every effort to be resourceful when asking for donations or in-kind contributions.
This practice has become even more important since we have more children than ever
before who are awaiting their wish.
If you have not been directly impacted by the economic struggles, you have heard
about it in the news. In an effort to fulfill a dream for each eligible child, we are faced
with tough decisions in how we deliver the wishes we fulfill.
As we strive to fulfill every child’s wish, we have set limits for high cash wish requests. If
your child’s wish is one that may fall into this area, our wish-granting volunteers and staff
will advise you on how the Foundation can move forward.
Additionally, we strive to be consistent and fair to all children while still focusing on the
uniqueness of each child’s request. In an effort to meet the needs of each child’s
personality, we may sit down to discuss the best approach in granting your child’s wish.
Please know that our hope is to fulfill your child’s request to the best of our abilities.
Is my family responsible for paying a portion of my child’s wish?
No, your family will not need to pay for any general expenses in relation to your child’s
wish. Our goal is for your family to have an enjoyable, relaxing and carefree experience
together. Since we are a non-profit organization, our staff and wish-granting volunteers
will work hard to secure donations and the best price for the goods and services
needed to fulfill your child’s wish.
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Your Child’s True Wish, continued
What if my child’s wish choice is not possible?
We will make every effort to grant the child’s primary request. However, we cannot
promise or guarantee we will be able to grant the requested wish for a variety of
reasons. Due to our inability to make any promises, including the use or purchase of
specific brands or dates of travel, it is extremely important that your child provide the
wish-granting volunteers with two wish requests. If they are having trouble making this
big decision, take a look at our website – www.midatlantic.wish.org – to review some
past wish stories and also discuss some ideas with our wish-granting volunteers when
they visit with you. Remember, we ask that your child make a wish request
understanding the limitations provided above, and to think about other possible wishes
– providing us with a first and second choice.
Who can participate in the wish?
Our National performance standards state:
Wishes will include the wish child’s parent(s),
guardian(s), and siblings under the age of
18 who reside with the wish child full time.
Taking this into account, the following
policies have been established:
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 Travel Wishes – For a travel wish,
Make-A-Wish automatically includes the
wish child’s immediate family, which is limited to two adults and any children
under the age of 18 living in the home full time. Additional family members or
friends may participate at their own expense ONLY if Make-A-Wish is advised
prior to the scheduling of the wish.
Local Shopping Wishes – Immediate family members of the wish child are
welcome to participate in a local shopping spree wish. Other relatives and
friends of the wish child will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Other Wishes – If the wish child wants to include a friend or other family members
in their non-travel and non-celebrity wish, we will consider this on a case-by-case
basis.
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Forms and Signatures
As with any event, there are many forms to be completed and signatures to obtain
when granting your child’s heartfelt wish. Now that your child has qualified for our
program, there is quite a bit of paperwork to be signed by both parents/legal guardians
and a few photocopies to be made. Every wish family is asked for the same
documents which are then stored securely in the wish child’s file. The Make-A-Wish
office will seek signatures from non-custodial parents directly.
To proceed with the wish process, the following documents should be photocopied
and given to your wish granters on the first visit:
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A copy of both parents’/legal guardians’ valid photo ID or driver’s license.
Photocopies of birth certificates for wish child and siblings under 18 residing in the
home.
A photo of the wish child for the file. This photo will be kept with the wish child’s
file and will act as inspiration for our team as they work to grant your child’s
heartfelt wish.
Based on the variety of family situations that exist, we have outlined the necessary
signatures that must be obtained prior to the granting of a wish.
Note: For your child to receive a wish, we must first obtain a signature from both
biological parents.
If the wish child resides with one parent but both parents have legal parental rights,
both parent’s signatures will be necessary.
If the wish child does not reside with either parent, the parent’s or legal guardian’s
signatures are necessary if the child is under 18 years.
If a step-parent has legally adopted the wish child, the parent and step-parent must
both sign. A copy of the adoption certificate may also be requested.
The same rules apply to all siblings (half and step) who are approved to participate in
the wish.
For a biological parent to be exempt from signing, one of the exceptions below must
apply:
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The wish child was referred prior to turning 18 and has now reached the age of
18 and can sign for him/herself
The child is emancipated – documentation must be provided
A biological parent is deceased
The parental rights have been terminated
A legal guardian has been appointed
A parent has sole parental rights and responsibilities
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Approval and Scheduling
Approval of the Wish
Before your child has their heart set on a wish, please understand that all wishes must go
through an approval process, which can take some time. Make-A-Wish has guidelines
and policies that must be followed. All wishes must be
attainable and medically appropriate for your child’s
age and medical condition. We cannot begin working
on the wish itself until all the paperwork is received in
our office, final authorization for the wish is obtained
from your child’s physician, and department/chapter
leadership has reviewed the wish.
Scheduling the Wish
Once the wish has been approved, we will do our
best to work with you to schedule the wish to take place at a time that
works well for your family. Your wish-granting volunteers will ask you for several possible
dates of travel. Some travel wishes are restricted to certain months, and our schedule
of wishes does fill up rather quickly. We will do everything we can to accommodate
your requests within our parameters.
Please understand that there are many factors that are involved in planning and
scheduling a wish experience. Unless it is a medical necessity, we cannot guarantee
any specific dates for your child’s wish.
Note: We are unable to extend travel dates beyond the dates of the wish without the
permission of the chapter or affiliate in the destination territory. Any extension of travel
must be discussed with Make-A-Wish staff prior to travel arrangements being solidified
and must be approved by the chapter.
Unexpected Change in Health
We understand that any child receiving a wish may experience a change in health.
Wishes can be cancelled, postponed and rescheduled if medically necessary. Please
do your best to contact the Manger of Wish Granting at 301-962-WISH(9474) as soon as
you are able in the event that such change is required.
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Conclusion
Have fun!
We hope your child enjoys the process of exploring wish ideas! You will be hearing from
your wish-granting volunteers in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please
don’t hesitate to call our office, at 301-962-WISH(9474.)
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