I wish to meet baby sea turtles
Miles
10
brain tumor
Give a Child a World of Hope
With a Life-Changing Wish Trip
For 10-year-old Miles, the ocean has always been a source of fascination. From a young age, he told his parents he wanted to be a marine biologist. But those dreams of the future suddenly felt uncertain when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. “For our family, there is life before Miles got sick and life after,” said his mom, Natasha.
As his family navigated the challenges of treatment, they searched for hopeful moments that would help them look beyond his diagnosis. That’s when they learned Miles was eligible for a wish from Make-A-Wish®.
Miles’ heartfelt wish was to travel to Florida to meet baby sea turtles and learn about their journey from the nest to the sea. The anticipation of the trip gave Miles and his family something positive to hold onto. When the trip finally arrived, Miles explored the beaches of Palm Beach, learned about sea turtle conservation and helped excavate nests and count eggs. The highlight of the trip was releasing turtles back into the wild. “I met [a] turtle named Anette, because they found her caught in a net on a boat,” Miles said. “They can get gigantic, up to 300 pounds! I’m a turtle expert now.”
In between turtle encounters and splashing in the sea, the trip gave Miles and his family something they desperately needed: time to simply enjoy being together. "My favorite part was seeing the joy on the kids' faces because it was something I couldn't give them," said his mom, Natasha. "It was a necessary distraction where we could let go and breathe for a bit after such a hard time."
Today, Miles still dreams of becoming a marine biologist. His Wish Journey opened up a world of possibilities beyond his illness, and helped him believe in brighter days ahead.
Now you can help travel wishes like Miles’ come true. More than 70% of all wishes involve some form of travel. Airfare costs are the greatest expense on travel wishes. In fact, Make-A-Wish needs more than 4 billion miles - the equivalent of 47,250 round-trip tickets - to cover travel wishes each year.
When airline miles are donated, children like Miles can travel beyond hospital walls, experience the wonder of the world and create memories that help them move forward with hope.
Donate miles today and help create more wishes that transform lives.
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Donate United MileagePlus® Miles
Helpline: (800) 421-4655
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum
Click the button below to donate your MileagePlus miles to help grant wishes by selecting United. -
Donate American AAdvantage® Miles
Helpline: (800) 882-8880
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum
Click the button below to donate your AAdvantage miles to Make-A-Wish through American’s Well-Being Program. -
Donate Delta Air Lines® Miles
Helpline: (800) 323-2323
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum
Click the button below to donate your Delta miles to help grant wishes by selecting Delta. -
Donate JetBlue TrueBlue Points
Helpline: (800) JET-BLUE
Guidelines: 500-point minimum
Click the button below to donate your TrueBlue points to help grant wishes by selecting Make-A-Wish. -
Donate Rapid Rewards® Points
Helpline: 1-800-I-FLY-SWA
Guidelines: 2,000-point minimum
Click the button below to donate your Rapid Rewards points to Make-A-Wish through Southwest’s Life-Changing Transportation Cause Area. -
Allegiant
Click the button below to learn more about Allegiant's dedication to granting wishes through their partnership.
Loyalty Programs
Currently, Make-A-Wish does not participate directly in any hotel loyalty point donation programs. However, chapters are able to use transferable vouchers on a case-by-case basis. To find out more about voucher donations, contact your local chapter.
Tax Deductibility
The IRS recognizes award points as a gift or an award from the corporation to the individual. Therefore, points donated to charity are not considered tax deductible.
