What does Make-A-Wish^® New Zealand do?
The key mission of Make-A-Wish is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

How many wishes do you grant?
Since Make-A-Wish began in New Zealand, it has granted over 1,000 wishes to New Zealand children. Worldwide, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 200,000 wishes.

What types of illnesses do wish children suffer from?
All wish recipients have a life-threatening medical condition. This covers a range of illnesses; approximately 60% of children who are granted wishes have some form of cancer.

How is a child eligible for a wish?
To qualify for a wish the child must have, in the opinion of their medical specialist, a life-threatening medical condition. The child must also be between the age of 3 and 17 years of age at the time of application.

What are the most common wishes?
In general, wishes fall into one of four categories:

To meet a favourite sports star or celebrity
To be a fireman, zoo keeper or a princess for a day
To have a playhouse, bike, puppy or ride in a really fast car!
To go to a concert, theme park or on a shopping spree

Wishes to go to the Gold Coast Theme Parks, or to have a new laptop are very popular, but we receive some unusual requests as well – from a Wiggles playhouse, to having a trampoline fairy tea party with an All Black or to record a song with artist Savage.

Are there any wishes you don’t grant?
Make-A-Wish New Zealand will not grant swimming pools or in-ground spa pools.  International travel wishes are restricted to children aged 8 years and over.  Due to travel insurance restrictions for the pre-existing medical conditions we are only able to provide overseas travel to Australia.  We do not grant home renovations wishes or car wishes.  The Foundation is unable to provide assistance with medical treatment or medical equipment.  
We also cannot provide cash.

What happens if a wish cannot be granted to an eligible child?
We seek two wish choices from the wish child so a cherished wish can be granted.

My child’s medical eligibility has been confirmed. What happens now?
Details of the wish process are found in wish request form.

How long does it take to grant a wish?
The wish-granting process can vary in length depending on the wish choice. The length of time is dependent on a variety of factors, e.g. if a child wishes to meet a particular celebrity, the meeting will be dependent on the celebrity’s schedule and can take some time to arrange.

I’ve agreed to publicity of my child’s wish. What happens now?
Publicity of wishes assists us in spreading the message of what we do and encouraging more wish applications. Publicity includes stories and photos appearing in our publications, on our website and Facebook page, in a magazine or newspaper, or in the promotional materials of our corporate partners. It might also mean appearing on television – an experience in itself! Even if you agree to publicity, you may subsequently change your mind by notifying Wish Central.