By Brian Smith
Director of Communications & Marketing
Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana
We all have wishes. We wish to be, to go, to have…and these wishes motivate us every day. For a child battling a critical illness, wishes offer hope, strength, and joy during the most difficult time of their life.
Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana grants life-changing wishes to local kids, for a wish is a powerful component of their treatment journey. The most common wish is to travel, whether to Disney World, Hawaii, New York City, or anywhere in between. For two years, all air travel was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in hundreds of kids waiting for their wish.
Now, domestic travel has resumed, and requests for these wishes, especially Hawaii, are at a record high. Make-A-Wish has an urgent need for airline miles to help grant wishes to travel around the United States. Due to the demand, resources from airline partners have been depleted, and Make-A-Wish will need to book these wishes at cost.
Currently, the organization needs to book more than 100 travel wishes by August 31. The direct cost of airfare alone is expected to be more than $250,000.
To bring these local wishes to life, Make-A-Wish needs your help. Through the Wishes in Flight program, your donation of airline miles to Make-A-Wish will send local kids on a trip they always remember.
The organization is seeking donations of miles for American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, and United. These are the four airlines with active partnerships with Make-A-Wish. Every contribution allows wish kids in your communities to pack their bags and prepare for the day about which they have been dreaming.
Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana serves families across 47 counties in Texas and the entire state of Louisiana. Since its inception in 1984, the chapter has granted more than 10,600 wishes to local children and, this year, will grant more than 550 wishes.
Every mile donated is applied to local wishes. Your contribution stays in your community—most importantly, you see the direct impact your generosity makes for a local child. There are currently more than 930 children on a wish journey, including 62 in Galveston County and the surrounding area, each of them eagerly anticipating the moment when their wish comes to life.
For many kids, such as Bacliff 10-year-old Josiah, the wish trip marks their first time on an airplane. Last month, Josiah’s wish to go to Disney World came to life, and he and his family made memories they will never forget! Many more wish kids are waiting for takeoff, so please make a gift of your airline miles today!
To donate miles and help grant a local wish, visit: wish.org/texgulf/wishesinflight
