The vision of Make-A-Wish is to grant the wish of every eligible child. The Wish Journey was created to increase the impact of the wishes we grant. When creating the Wish Journey, it was purposely designed to aid physical and emotional healing through building strong, positive experiences.

UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES

When you travel around the world visiting different affiliates, you can see what makes us different and what unites us. It is an enlightening experience. No matter what culture and language, we all share our love and care for children. We all dream and we all experience the power of wishes coming true. That is universal, that unites us.

We embrace cultural differences to enrich our lives. Although we can differ in HOW we do things, we find common ground on WHY we are doing it.

In respecting our differences, it is also important to identify the necessary elements within the wish process. This will guarantee the quality of the wish and ensure our contribution has the biggest impact possible.

WISH STATEMENT

The wish statement has been written in a way to show the global character of our organization and to capture the essence of the Wish Journey. We can share our common belief in what the mission means to us and others.

Capturing a cherished wish awakens the imagination, creates excitement and empowers the child to dream. It is the start of a powerful Wish Journey in which the anticipation of the wish is as important as the actual experience of the wish coming true. The power of a wish transcends the wish child, impacting the family and the community. We call this “the ripple effect.”

The Wish Journey is purposely designed to aid physical and emotional healing through building strong positive experiences, applying principles of positive psychology. An essential complement to the medical process, it also provides laughter, fun and creates amazing memories that continue to inspire confidence and strength long after the wish has been granted.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

Our wish children are going through a difficult time. They endure fear and pain while observing their parents being concerned and worried. Those are a lot of negative experiences.

It is generally accepted that experiences influence the brain. Positive experiences are crucial to build a strong self-image, trust and resilience. Resilience leads to better psychological and physical coping of bad experiences, including critical illnesses.

Since our wish children face a lot of adversity, a wish can provide a positive experience so strong – that it diminishes the negative ones.

Looking at our brain, it can be divided into two halves: right and left. The left half is where our language, writing, logic and analysis are stored. The right half contains our emotions, expression, creativity and imagination. When capturing the child’s one-true-wish, it is important to engage their creativity to stimulate out-of-the-box thinking.

The big question is: are we stimulating the right half of the brain?

MAKE-A-WISH ISRAEL STUDY

Recently, scientific research, commissioned by Make-A-Wish Israel*, studied what it means to receive a wish and the effect it has on the child’s physical and psychological well-being.

The findings indicated that the children who received the wish-fulfillment intervention had higher levels of hope regarding their future, increased positive emotions and health-related quality of life. The study also reported that the child had a better psychological profile manifested by lower levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological symptomatology.

A wish is different from a goal or an objective. It is coveted, inspirational and extraordinary beyond mundane desires or goals that are obtainable. It is possible that wishing enabled these children to dream about something that seemed unobtainable, out of reach, and thus created an experience of achieving the impossible. From a motivational point of view, wish fulfillment can be seen as a motivator for coping and hope for the future.

Additionally, the expectation and realization of the wish resulted in enhanced positive emotions. Experiencing positive emotions is believed to promote more adaptive environmental responses and resilience, vastly improving an individual’s daily functioning and overall well-being.

From a cognitive perspective, during the process of wish fulfillment, the child is in a continuous process in which he/she imagines the moment of fulfillment.

It is also important for parents to understand what the effect of granting their child’s one-true-wish can have on the child. We want to emphasize the importance of finding the true wish by releasing the pressure of needing to identify that one-true-wish during the first visit.

A wish is not a fleeting gift – it’s a carefully planned journey, designed to complement a child’s medical treatment, and give them the hope, strength and joy they need to fight their illness.

The whole Wish Journey – from wish capture to building anticipation to lasting memories – aids physical and emotional healing by building strong positive experiences through the application of principles of positive psychology. This way, the Wish Journey builds resilience and helps children to better cope with their critical illness.

A wish-come-true empowers and transforms the lives of anyone who plays a part. It allows everyone involved, whether family members, volunteers, sponsors or extended communities, to experience true happiness. It gives children renewed energy and strength, brings families closer together, and unites communities throughout the Wish Journey – not just at the point of wish realization.

THE WISH JOURNEY’S FIVE (5) PHASES

1. Wish capture

2. Wish design

3. Wish anticipation

4. Wish realization

5. Wish effect