In January 2022 six-year-old Andrew and his family spent a week at Give Kids the World and Walt Disney World® Resorts.

Andrew is from a close family, and his extended family choose to visit Orlando at the same time to help him celebrate his wish. Andrew is part of a growing class of wishes that require us to move quickly to ensure the child receives their wish at the appropriate time in their medical journey. Make-A-Wish Iowa President & CEO, Sara Kurovski shared, “We are really lucky at Make-A-Wish, that not only do we have a national group of medical advisors, but we also have the doctors who help with the referral side. These are the doctors who are closest to the children and families. They engage us in a way to deliver the wish at the right moment when it’s absolutely needed.”

Make-A-Wish recently released an impact study focused on the power of a wish.

Make-A-Wish alumni, parents, and medical providers overwhelmingly agree that the wish experience contributes substantially to physical, mental, and emotional health; and was a necessary part of the medical treatment journey, improved the odds of survival, provided a support system and better health outcomes, and gave the child a better chance of recovering from their critical illness.