Each April, Make-A-Wish celebrates World Wish Month, bringing communities around the globe together to celebrate the power of a wish and the people who make wishes possible. Throughout the month, we recognize the donors, volunteers, partners, medical professionals, wish families and supporters who come together as WishMakers to create life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses.

The celebration culminates on World Wish Day, April 29, commemorating the anniversary of the wish that started it all. On April 29, 1980, 7-year-old Chris Greicius had his wish to become a police officer come true. The community that rallied around Chris saw the incredible impact of his wish and was inspired to help more children. That single wish sparked what would become the global Make-A-Wish movement.

Here in the Hudson Valley, World Wish Month is our opportunity to celebrate that legacy while looking ahead to the wishes still waiting to come true. Throughout April, we invite our community to become WishMakers by donating, volunteering, fundraising, partnering with us, sharing our mission and helping make more life-changing wishes possible for local children. Welcome to World Wish Month reinforces this local call to action and the idea that there is a way for everyone to get involved.

Because wishes don't happen by chance. They happen when a community comes together to make them possible. This April, become a WishMaker and help us create hope, strength and joy for children throughout the Hudson Valley.