Orlando, FL–The health and safety of all Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida constituents, including our wish families and partners, is our priority. At this time, due to current medical and public concerns Make-A-Wish America has made the difficult decision to postpone all wish travel, as well as wish kid participation in all activities and events related to Make-A-Wish that involve large gatherings (e.g. large scale wish granting events, theme parks, etc.) until further notice. On average, 77 percent of wishes involve air travel. The Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida Chapter has postponed 55 of the current 517 pending wishes across Central and Northern Florida.Nationwide, 970 wishes were immediately impacted with 30 more wishes estimated to be postponed each day.
As a result, we have adapted our organization messaging to address the current situation and will be launching a new national campaign, PSA and press release on Friday that calls attention to the children waiting for their wishes to come true.
We will continue to monitor guidance from national and international public health and government organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. State Department, and are working closely with the national Make-A-Wish Medical Advisory Council, keeping the best interest of the children and families we serve at the center of all policy decisions we make.
As always, we remain committed to our vision of granting the wish of every eligible child fighting a critical illness. The world needs hope right now, and our mission is to create life-changing wishes that deliver hope to children with critical illnesses. Our mission has been interrupted and we need your support now more than ever.
We will continue to share the hope, the joy, and the power a wish can have for a child battling a critical illness on our external channels. Your help today will bring hope and joy to wish kids in the Florida community tomorrow. To support wishes across Central Florida, visit our website at cnfl.wish.org.
About Make-A-Wish
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child's wish to life because every child deserves a childhood. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their illness. This year, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the wish that inspired the founding of the organization in 1980. Since then, Make-A-Wish has become the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 34,000 volunteers across the U.S. grant a wish every 33 minutes, on average, somewhere in the country. In total, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 330,000 wishes to children in the U.S. and its territories; more than 15,800 wishes in 2019 alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America and the 40th anniversary celebration, visit wish.org.
Contact:
Kelsea Hauck, Director of Marketing and Community Engagement
Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida
407-622-4673 ext. 207
cnfl.wish.org