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Join a caring community of volunteers who transform lives. Together, we can make countless wishes come true.
Your time and unique talents are critical to bringing strength and hope to wish kids when they need it the most. In fact, our volunteers are at the heart of every wish experience.
Make-A-Wish volunteers consider their work impactful and meaningful. And, their efforts are rewarded - not in dollars or cents, but in the incredible difference they make in the lives of our wish kids. Volunteers even have the freedom to choose when and how they would like to help transform lives in our community.
We understand that you want to volunteer but might not know where your skills and talents best lie. Check out our volunteer opportunities and see where you can best help make wishes come true.
A wish celebration volunteer helps a child and family build resilience and experience healing during the Wish
Journey, specifically in the time leading up to the wish itself. This is done through in-person and virtual interactions that strengthen a child and family’s support system and build hope and anticipation for a child and family leading up to the child’s wish.
Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas offers a variety of unpaid internships to provide opportunities for students and recent graduates, to receive academic credit and/or valuable work experience in the nonprofit field. Students must be a junior or senior to apply. Internships are located in the St. Louis, MO office headquarters. Available internships can include administrative, fundraising/events, marketing/communications, and mission delivery/wish granting. Interested in learning more about our internship opportunities? Email Gabrielle Stremlau at gstremlau@mokan.wish.org
Translator/ Interpreter volunteers help facilitate wish experiences for non-English speaking families with
written and verbal communication. Translators have the option of becoming fully trained Wish Celebration/
Discovery volunteers, or they can provide short-term support on an as-needed basis.
Special Event volunteers help with local events in a variety of different ways. Day of event volunteer jobs vary
but may include registration, live auction spotter, overseeing a water station, check-out, and more!
Find upcoming events on Our Events page.
Open to wish alum and their families, represent Make-A-Wish at a number of external outreach and fundraising events to share your wish experience. If you are interested in learning more about this volunteer opportunity, please email Brian Miller at bmiller@mokan.wish.org.
Volunteers between the ages of 24-40 are invited to join this dynamic, energetic group in the
St. Louis or Kansas City regions. The mission of the Make-A-Wish Young Professionals is to provide a forum for
young community leaders to enhance their professional growth, gain leadership skills, and practice civic
responsibility while increasing awareness, encouraging volunteerism and raising funds for Make-A-Wish
Missouri & Kansas. The Young Professionals support Make-A-Wish events as well as host fun, engaging events
that support our chapter’s fundraising efforts.
Use your skills on an as-needed basis. This volunteer should have professional knowledge of the skill. Needed skills include reading or writing in multiple languages, graphic design, photography, carpentry, interior design, landscaping and more.
Your Make-A-Wish Journey Starts Today
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas! Our wishes, wish kids and wish families are all unique, and so are our Volunteers. All prospective Volunteers are asked to meet a series of requirements before approval.
- Fill out our Volunteer Interest Form
Once you are familiar with our roles, fill out our Volunteer Interest Form. A member of our Volunteer Services department will contact you once we receive it. - Attend a Volunteer Orientation
Once your interest form is received a member of our Volunteer Services department will contact you to attend an orientation. At the orientation, you will learn about Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas' mission to grant wishes to children with critical illnesses and how you can help. - Criminal Background Check & Online Training Sessions
Due to the nature of our work, Volunteer applicants must complete a criminal background check every three years. All information in the Volunteer Application, and any acquired through the background check, remains confidential and is used only for screening and placement purposes. Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas does not employ or utilize any individual as a Volunteer who has been convicted of a crime that (a) victimizes children, (b) is sexual in nature, or (c) involves violence, fraud, or significant theft. After an approved background check, you will be registered for several online training modules. - Complete Training
Find and join upcoming Training dates related to Wish Granting on Our Events page. Any Volunteer interested in becoming a Wish Granting Volunteer will be required to attend a Wish Granter Training session. - Welcome!
You are officially now a volunteer for Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas. You will be an integral part of bringing hope, strength and joy to Missouri & Kansas kids.
Check out our most frequently asked questions below.
Currently, we have a vital need for volunteers who meet any of the following criteria:
- Bilingual speakers (English and another language)
- Live in the Kansas City, Wichita or Springfield regions
- Well versed in virtual platforms (Zoom, Facetime, Skype, etc.)
Volunteers who believe in and adhere to our values are our best fit. Our values are: Integrity, Child Focus, Excellence, Community and Inspiration.
- Integrity: We approach every aspect of our work with unwavering standards of honesty, transparency and respect for wish recipients, their families and supporters.
- Child Focus: Our business practices always put the interests of wish children first.
- Excellence: We aspire to have best-in-class business practices, and we embrace the challenge to exceed expectations at every opportunity.
- Community: We foster a collaborative, global community of staff, volunteers and donors with the collective ability to make the broadest possible range of wishes come true.
- Inspiration: We are inspired by the examples of our wish kids and the actions of the entire Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas community to approach our mission with life-affirming enthusiasm, imagination, and creativity.
Yes! Many volunteers lead busy and active lifestyles with personal and professional commitments. Volunteer opportunities are self-selected and project oriented. Flexibility is key as there will not be consistent, set volunteer hours.
Wish granters schedule a time to meet with our wish families based on the family’s schedule as well as their own. Event volunteers can select specific events and times based on their schedule.
Because we work closely with children, Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas requires that all wish granting volunteers submit to and pay a fee of approximately $26.00 for a criminal background check. More information will be sent to volunteers after completion of the Volunteer Application and interview. All information received from these reports will remain confidential and be used only for screening and placement purposes.
Make-A-Wish® policy prohibits our chapter from using the services of a volunteer if the individual has been convicted of a crime that victimizes children, is sexual in nature and/or involves violence, fraud or significant theft.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, contact Volunteer Services at volunteer@mokan.wish.org
Although all official volunteers must be 18 years old, there are a number of other volunteer opportunities including hosting a fundraising event or organizing a fundraiser at school through our Kids For Wish Kids program. Email volunteer@mokan.wish.org for more information.
We have several opportunities for groups to support Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas! To learn more, please click here.
A wish celebration volunteer helps a child and family build resilience and experience healing during the Wish
Journey, specifically in the time leading up to the wish itself. To deliver this intended impact, two wish
celebration volunteers partner together to establish a meaningful connection with the wish child and family.
This is done through in-person and virtual interactions that strengthen a child and family’s support system and
build hope and anticipation for a child and family leading up to the child’s wish. A wish celebration volunteer is
an important member of the “wish team,” working collaboratively and cohesively with Make-A-Wish staff and
other volunteers to create the most impactful experience possible for a child and family
Wish Volunteer trainings are specialized trainings that consist of an overview of Make-A-Wish® Missouri & Kansas, the wish granting process, meeting with wish families and planning a wish. Find upcoming wish celebration training dates on Our Events page.
No, wish volunteers do not travel with the family. There are 59 other Make-A-Wish chapters around the country and many international affiliates. When we send a wish family to another state or country, that chapter or affiliate will help facilitate the wish.