Make-A-Wish Idaho grants 2,000th wish
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Make-a-Wish Idaho recently granted its 2,000th wish.
13-year-old Holman had his wish to go to Disneyland. He has dealt with lymphoma for a long while. A release says when Holman was in the hospital, he could not eat food for months, but he kept talking about going to Disneyland. His mother said it gave him something to look forward to.
Make-a-Wish Idaho was established in 1986. It started out granting about 10 wishes each year and is now granting more than a hundred each year.
“As the population has grown, it's increased pretty dramatically,” Make-a-Wish Idaho President and CEO Janie Best said. “Just last year we had an increase of over 40%… and it's because so many people are moving into the state.”
Make-a-Wish Idaho fulfilled 127 wishes during its last fiscal year. It hopes to grant 140 wishes this year.
Now that Make-a-Wish Idaho has reached such a milestone, Best shared the chapter’s hopes and dreams for the future.
“We’ve recently expanded our physical locations into North Idaho in addition to Eastern Idaho. North Idaho is an area that's been traditionally underserved. So we are working actively to identify all the kids that might qualify for a wish there.”
Best says the chapter wants to go to underserved communities in the state and “educate those medical providers and child social workers about what qualifies for a wish so that those kids can then experience the magic of a wish.”
Some people think a child must be diagnosed with a terminal illness to qualify for a wish. Best says that is not the case.
“In fact, 95% of the kids that we serve go on to lead happy and healthy lives and participating in the wish experience as part of their healing journey.”
Children who are diagnosed with a critical illness between the ages of two-and-a-half and 18 at the time of referral are eligible for wishes. These illnesses range from cancer to heart conditions to some digestive disorders.
Best says there are five types of wishes kids usually make in the program—I wish to be, I wish to go, I wish to meet, I wish to have and I wish to give. One girl wished to give softball and baseball equipment to her high school.
A 2022 wish impact study shows the wish experience greatly helped with the mental, physical and emotional health of the family members, adult wish kids and medical professionals involved.
For more information on the wish referral and granting process, click here.
