Make-A-Wish Greater PA & WV-YORK Regional Office

Make-A-Wish® is a nonprofit organization that creates life-changing wishes for children, aged 2½ to 18, with critical illnesses. Since our first wish granted in 1983, Make-A-Wish® Greater Pennsylvania and West Viriginia has fulfilled more than 21,500 wishes.  

When we first meet a wish kid, we ask, “If you could go anywhere, have anything, give anything, be anything or meet anyone, what would it be?”  When a child answers this question, a wish is born. Wishes usually fall into five categories: travel wishes, celebrity meetings, gift wishes, wishes to give and occupational wishes.  

However, each wish is as diverse as the children themselves. A child can wish for anything from a puppy to being a superhero for a day. We encourage wish kids to use their imagination and “think outside the box.” For many children and their families, a wish is more than just a 'nice' experience — it has a lifelong impact, strengthening their families, bringing happiness into their lives, while also marking a turning point in their child’s battle against their medical condition. 

According to a Wish Impact Survey, 98% of medical providers observed that the wish experience helped relieve families from traumatic stress related to their child’s critical illness. And 94% of wish parents saw their child’s emotional well-being improve through the wish experience.

For more information, please call Make-A-Wish® at 717-757-9474 or visit wish.org/greaterpawv.