A child can be referred to Make-A-Wish by parents/guardians, medical team or the child him/herself once they are 2 ½ years old and before they turn 18 years old. The child must reside within Michigan in order to proceed with the wish process. If a child’s diagnosis meets our eligibility criteria, we will schedule a welcome phone call with you to learn more about your child and your family. 

After eligibility is confirmed, volunteer wish granters are assigned to meet with you and your child and discover his/her wish ideas during a wish discovery meeting. Currently, due to COVID-19, the wish discovery meetings are only taking place virtually. The wish idea and paperwork collected during the wish discovery meeting are reviewed for approval by Make-A-Wish Michigan staff and also by the child’s medical team to ensure the wish is within our guidelines and medically safe for the child. 

Once the specific wish is approved, Make-A-Wish Michigan staff will coordinate with you to plan the details and grant the wish. 

Due to COVID-19, the length of the wish process from the time the child is referred until the wish is granted can vary greatly. Specifically, waiting to be matched with volunteer wish granters can take several months. You are welcome to check in on the status of your child’s wish at any time.    

Wish-granting volunteers are the volunteers who will meet with you and your child for a wish discovery meeting. During the wish discovery meeting, your child will have the opportunity to share his/her wish ideas and narrow down a first and second choice if there are multiple ideas. Wish-granting volunteers will complete necessary forms to begin planning a wish. Make-A-Wish Michigan staff will then follow up with the family for additional paperwork and information. 

All wish granting volunteers go through a screening and vetting process. They must pass a background check, complete a conflict of interest form and attend wish-granting training. Once they meet these requirements they are assigned to your child, taking into consideration language, geography and experience. 

The child's imagination is always the driving force in determining, designing and coordinating a life-changing wish experience. When the wish-granting volunteers come for the wish discovery meeting, they will ask your child about their ideas as well as what they specifically imagine for the wish. 

Wishes typically fall into four categories: Wish to Be, Wish to Have, Wish to Go, Wish to Meet. We have also seen ideas around Wish to Give. If your child’s wish doesn’t fall into any of these categories, please still share it, and we will discuss options. It is always best to share several wish ideas in case one particular wish idea is not possible. 

Each wish is reviewed individually and is as unique as each child. Examples of wishes that we cannot grant include cars, homes, weapons or cash. There are age restrictions for certain wish types. There are also restrictions on travel to countries with U.S. State Department travel advisories. Wish restrictions will be communicated to you as they become relevant.  

The wish process can be placed on hold if you are not yet ready to move forward with the wish process due to your child’s current medical treatments or other family situations that need priority attention. This hold is essentially a pause in the process and will be for a specified time period upon review by Make-A-Wish Michigan staff.  You can discuss this option with our team at any point in the process. 

No. All wish expenses are fully covered, including all travel and spending money when appropriate. Make-A-Wish's objective is to create a memorable wish experience for both the child and family that is not clouded by financial concerns. Covered expenses will be outlined and explained to you when the wish is approved and, in some cases, spending money to use on the wish experience is given in the form of a prepaid card.  

We do not ask for any proof of income or immigration status. However, immigration status may impact your ability to travel so please keep that in consideration when discussing wish ideas with your child.  

There are several layers of approval required for a wish to take place:   

Both biological parents of the child must provide a signature allowing a wish to be granted. Exceptions are made when one parent is deceased or whereabouts are unknown as well as if the child is in foster care or under legal guardianship of another adult. We will review all situations on a case-by-case basis. Make-A-Wish Michigan staff reviews every wish request and will approve a wish that is within our guidelines. 

The child’s medical team will also review the wish and must approve that it is medically safe for the child. 

 If a particular wish cannot be granted due to guidelines or medical concerns, your child will be given opportunity to select a new wish. Please note that guidelines vary among the many chapters of Make-A-Wish and can change at any time. Approval guidelines will be communicated to you as they become relevant. 

Generally, the wish child can include two (2) adults and siblings who live in the wish child’s home under the age of 18 to be part of the wish experience. If the child requires nursing care, a nurse may be considered based on recommendation of the child’s medical team. 

If you share that your child does not communicate verbally, we will send you a Communication Profile for you to complete and send back to us. This will allow us to better understand how your child communicates and some of his/her interests. We will also send a Communication Profile to be completed by a professional who is familiar with how your child communicates. This can be a doctor, teacher or social worker. We ask for the child to still be present during the wish discovery meeting, and we understand that you will likely be speaking on behalf of your child in determining a wish. 

Still have questions? We're here to help! Email your wish coordinator or call 800.622.9474.