My Why:

I chose Make-A-Wish because I have seen so many ways that it has impacted children. My sorority, Chi Omega, has had a partnership with the organization for about twenty-five years. Each semester, we have many fundraising events to raise money for Make-A-Wish. Because of working closely with Make-A-Wish through my sorority, I have heard so many stories of wishes that were granted, and have even got to meet Wish Alumni. Not only does Make-A-Wish grant the child a wish, they also give the family support throughout the process and after the wish is granted. Additionally, there are many studies that show that the wish benefits the child and family mentally even after the wish. This motivated me to apply for one of their internships. I got selected to be one of their development interns. With this, I assist the development team with fundraising for their two main spring events. These two events are Walk for Wishes and Wishmaker’s ball. This is amazing because I get to volunteer my time to such an amazing cause while learning and enriching my education.

About Make-A-Wish 

Make-A-Wish’s mission is to provide terminally ill children with a wish. There are many different kinds of wishes. To name a few, there is “to be ”, “to go”, and “to meet”. Some kids wish to be a superhero, or to go to Disney. They have many employees who work to grant wishes, and find innovative ways to fundraise and get donations. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980. It all started with the first wish kid, Chris. He wanted to be a police officer and the city of Phoenix made it happen. From there, Make-A-Wish was born. The main headquarters are in Seattle, however they have an office thirty minutes away from UCF campus, in Maitland. There are offices in most states, and some states even have more than one office. In Florida, there are two main offices. These are Northern and Central Florida, and South Florida. There is also a satellite office in Jacksonville, that works under the Northern and Central Florida office.