This info kit provides facts and statistics about our local chapter, as well as contact information for all our offices and information about volunteering, donating and referring a child. 

• Make-A-Wish^® is a nonprofit organization that creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. 
• Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. A small group of people helped a very ill boy achieve his wish to be a police officer for a day. Currently, there are 58 chapters in the US and more than 39 international affiliates. 
• The local organization —Make-A-Wish^® Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia — was founded in May 1983 in Pittsburgh, PA. Its first wish child Bryan, a seven-year-old with cancer, wanted to visit his favorite uncle in Texas for one of his famous piggy-back rides. Bryan lived for nearly six years after his wish was fulfilled. 
• Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia was once five chapters that began to operate jointly in January 2000, in November 2003, in September 2005 and again in September 2013. It includes 57 counties in western, central and northeastern Pennsylvania and 23 counties of southern West Virginia. The chapter is headquartered in Pittsburgh and has seven regional offices in Erie, Pottsville, Punxsutawney, Scranton and York, PA, and Charleston and Morgantown, WV. 
• Make-A-Wish has grown steadily with the help of more than 600 volunteers. Thirteen wishes were fulfilled in 1983. To date, more than 21,500 wishes have been fulfilled. Popular wishes include trips to the Walt Disney World^® Resort, shopping sprees, puppies, play sets, gaming computers, car restorations and more. 
• The most common misconception about Make-A-Wish is that we only provide wishes for dying children. On the contrary, wishes have the power to transform lives by creating an opportunity for hope and the ability to experience life beyond illness. In fact, research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight, and often times overcome, a critical illness.
• In a 2022 impact study, a large majority of Make-A-Wish alumni, parents, and medical providers overwhelmingly agreed that the wish experience contributed substantially to physical, mental, and emotional health – and improved the odds of survival. Learn more about the study at: wish.org/impact-survey
• The entire family is invited to be part of the wish experience, knowing that parents and siblings need joy and inspiration just as much as the wish child.
• Make-A-Wish has a variety of donor programs including Wishmakers At Work^® for the workplace as well as Kids For Wish Kids^® and Wishmakers On Campus^® for students.
• Donors may participate in our Wishmaker® recognition program. A Wishmaker is a person, foundation or corporation that contributes a minimum of $5,000 – enough to completely fund one wish. The Wishmaker amount, $5,000, is based on the cost of our most popular wish, a trip to the Walt Disney World^® Resort for a family of four. 100% of these funds are dedicated toward wish expenses.
• Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia is administered by a 17- to 25-member Board of Directors and a professional staff.
• Make-A-Wish does not engage in telemarketing or door-to-door solicitation.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Make-A-Wish^® Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia, please call our Volunteer Manager at 800.676.9474. Read on to learn about volunteer opportunities and requirements. 

Volunteer Opportunities 

• Volunteers are an integral part of fulfilling wishes. As a member of a “wish team,” you will meet with the family, determine the wish and act as a liaison to the Make-A-Wish staff during the wish process. 
• Volunteers also help at special events such as golf tournaments, haunted houses and dances. 
• Volunteers help with fundraising programs by attending Wishmakers At Work^® and Kids For Wish Kids^® programs as well as events to represent Make-A-Wish to people in their local community. 
• Volunteers help in the different Make-A-Wish^® offices (Pittsburgh, Charleston, Erie, Morgantown, Pottsville, Punxsutawney, Scranton and York) with mailings, phone calls, filing, special projects and other office support as needed. 

Volunteer Requirements 

• All volunteers must agree to abide by the policies and procedures of Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 
• All wish volunteers must be 21 or older. 
• Anyone who wants to volunteer must complete an application and obtain the appropriate state criminal history background check. All forms are provided by Make-A-Wish. 
• All new volunteers must attend a one-on-one interview/orientation with the Volunteer Manager or a Regional Office Manager. 
• All new volunteers must attend eight full hours of training (week nights or Saturdays). 
• Newly-trained wish volunteers will agree to be part of a “wish team” and complete two to three wishes as a “trainee.” 
• All wish volunteers will complete a mandatory refresher course every two years.

Anyone interested in making a donation to Make-A-Wish^®, please call the office at 800.676.9474 and a member of the fund raising staff will be happy to help you.  Any donor that contributes a minimum of $5,000 is considered a Wishmaker^®.  Please see our Gift Levels and Recognition >

An overview of our different fundraising programs follows: 

Make-A-Wish relies on caring individuals to help us reach every eligible child. Children who are between the ages of 2.5 and 18 and diagnosed with a critical illness that meet our eligibility criteria qualify for a wish.  Some examples of conditions that qualify include, but are not limited to, various forms of cancer, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, transplants and intractable epilepsy. Generally, children with chronic conditions such as diabetes or developmental delays do not qualify. The economic background of the family is not a consideration for qualification.

To refer a child, please call 800.676.9474 or visit wish.org/refer-a-child.

Make-A-Wish has a variety of visual assets (e.g., photos, videos, PSAs, banners, logos, etc.) available for media use upon request. 

To make a request, please fill out the Media Request Form.  

Please include information stating the desired assets, as well as basic information explaining the usage and potential exposure of the assets. Permission to access the desired assets will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

If this is an urgent request (i.e., material needed within 48 hours), please email Dana Antkowiak, Director of Marketing and Communications, at [email protected]. 

Dana Antkowiak 
Director of Marketing and Communications

 
Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia 
The Gulf Tower 
707 Grant Street, 37th Floor  
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1938 

 
Phone: 412.471.9474 
Fax: 412.471.9705 
Email: [email protected]