Refer a Child
Referring a child for a wish is pretty simple. There are a few criteria to be met, some ideas to come up with, and then the family must complete the application forms.
Criteria
It is our goal to grant wishes to qualifying children and young adults. To qualify, the child must be under the age of 21; they must live in the greater Chicago-land area or receive treatments at an area hospital; they must have a life threatening condition as determined by their physician; and they may have not received a wish by any other wish granting organization in the past or concurrently with this request. As with most other wish granting organizations within the United States, A Special Wish follows a "one wish per child" policy.
Wish Ideas and What They Cover
A Special Wish will include immediate family members living at home with the child in the wish whenever possible. We encourage the family to work with their child and the child's medical support team to determine appropriate wish options. We also try to talk to the child and ensure that they are getting the wish that they want.
Typically, wishes fall into three categories: travel, gifts or "meet and greets".
A travel wish is exactly that: travel. We offer trips to anywhere in the lower 48 United States. Unfortunately, we cannot provide travel out of the country or cruises. Included in these types of wishes would be all transportation costs, all lodging, food and spending allowances. If theme parks are involved, tickets are provided to wish participants as well. We have done wishes to the theme parks in Florida, to southern California, as well as sightseeing trips to Colorado and northern California. We have even provided the opportunity to attend a huge family reunion out of state.
Gift wishes vary greatly depending on the chronological or developmental age of the child. These may involve room makeovers, shopping sprees at a local store or mall or a specific gift. Popular gift wishes include computers, new televisions, stereos or video gaming systems. For our youngest recipients in very critical condition, often a video camera or a professional portrait might be an appropriate wish.
Meet and greet wishes also vary based on each child. After all, everyone's heroes and idols change as they mature. We have been lucky to work with MLB pitcher Mark Buehrle, NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, members of the band Incubus, Broadway and film star Tim Curry and the cast of The Wiggles, just to name a few. This category of wishes may involve short trips or gifts of tickets and / or merchandise. It varies and is determined on a wish by wish basis as to what is appropriate.
We know that you are anxious about your child's condition and want this to be the best experience possible, but we also want the wish to be something that the child will remember. If your child's prognosis is good, it might be more advantageous to wait a bit so your child can recover and remember a great trip. We can always work with you and your family in the event of a change in their medical condition. Similarly, if you child has an illness that may cause a future decline in their physical condition but they are currently stable, it might be better to move forward while they can fully experience everything offered by the wish experience.