As of July 2023, Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada is proud to announce that we have granted a record-breaking number of wishes for critically ill children in our community. And we’ve got no plans to slow down! Our fiscal year 2019 saw our chapter grant 158 wishes, which was previously the highest number we’ve granted in a year. After years of pandemic restrictions changing the way we grant wishes and presenting new opportunities for creative smile and hope delivery, we are thrilled to announce that the previous 2019 record has been broken! We have already granted 159 wishes - more than our chapter has ever done in a year - and we’re on track to crush this goal even further. We expect 10-15 more wishes will be added to that total before our fiscal year ends on August 31! 

The entire staff of Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada has been working hard to bring as many life-changing wishes to the children of our community as possible, with a focus on growing the number of wishes that we grant year over year. Together with our partners, we have worked hard to spread the word about our organization and the power of a wish. As such, we have seen more qualified referrals than ever before, which means our job of providing hope, strength, and joy is more important than ever. 

Isabel is a nine-year-old girl in Las Vegas with a genetic disorder that requires her to use a wheelchair. Because her home is two stories, getting her upstairs to her bedroom is difficult for her family, and often means that Isabel sleeps on the couch in her living room with her mother to make sure she stays safe and is as comfortable as possible. Isabel’s wish was to make this living room space look and feel more like her own bedroom; a space that was truly dedicated to her, with the bonus of being more accessible to her family and providing privacy when she needs it, just like any young girl would desire.

With the help of a local interior designer, Rosalind Juarbe, Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada transformed Isabel’s shared living room space into a whole new room just for her! Her new room has a bed for her and her mom to share, features calming décor, and now includes special curtains that both block it off from the rest of the home and help provide darkness when it’s time for Isabel to sleep. What this transformation meant for the family is a drastically more comfortable way of life for Isabel, one that she can enjoy every day.

We could not continue to grant so many wishes without the support of the incredible community of Southern Nevada. I am constantly amazed, but never surprised, at how generous our partners are and how excited they are to bring a wish to a deserving young child in their backyard. Whether it be companies and individuals that provide funds to purchase elements of a wish, or local laborers that donate their time to help make a dream come true, we are never in short supply of helping hands that are ready to provide hope to a wish child and their family. 

While our team celebrates this historic moment of success, we know our job is not over. Our vision is to grant life-changing wishes for every eligible child in Southern Nevada, and we continue to use that goal as our North Star in every decision we make as a chapter. We plan to grant even more wishes next fiscal year, always with the intention to bring more hope, more strength, and more joy to the children who so desperately need it in our community.

To our friends and family of Southern Nevada, thank you so much for all that you’ve done to help us continue our mission, and we look forward to more years of broken records as long as the children of our community need us!