Make-A-Wish Hawaii

Mahalo to HEMIC Foundation for selecting Make-A-Wish Hawaii as the nonprofit beneficiary of the 2024 HEMIC Foundation Charity Golf Tournament! ⛳️🏌🏽 Thanks to HEMIC Foundation’s heartfelt generosity, $40,000 was raised to help grant life-changing wishes for local keiki. 💙 We were honored to have Wish Kid Aurelia and her mom, Rachel, join Trini Kaopuiki Clark at the check presentation to celebrate this wonderful support. Mahalo nui loa, HEMIC Foundation! Together, we are making wishes come true! 💫

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to shine a light on the brave kids like Burk who are battling leukemia, lymphoma, and other forms of blood cancer. 💪🩸⁠ Burk is a humble and sweet 8-year-old boy from Honolulu whose life took a drastic turn when he was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. While courageously fighting for his health, Burk found strength in imagining all the possibilities for his one true wish. Ultimately, he wished to have a shopping spree to get toys, clothes, and school supplies. 🎒 Burk's wish to have a shopping spree was granted in August! His wish team surprised him with school supplies so he could shop for items that brought him the most joy, including a new iPad! Burk thoughtfully chose shoes in his size, and a couple in bigger sizes, knowing he will soon grow into them. 👟 After two years battling leukemia, Burk is now in remission. His wish day was a celebration of how far he's come and the bright future he has ahead. 🌟 You can be the reason a child, like Burk, finds strength to fight their illness through the power of a wish. If you know a child who is fighting blood cancer, including leukemia and lymphoma, make a referral today at hawaii.wish.org. 💙✨⁠

Gear up for good! ⭐️ Make-A-Wish Hawaii’s online store is now open, featuring apparel and accessories for keiki and adults. 🧢 Every purchase helps bring hope, joy, and strength to children with critical illnesses across the state, as 100% of the net proceeds are donated to Make-A-Wish Hawaii. Wear your heart for our mission on your sleeve and help grant local wishes! 👕💫 Shop now at mawhi.square.site 🛍️

Happy National Cheese Pizza Day! 🍕 Wish Kids Vivienne and Kai had a pizza party in the Domino's Hawaii Wish Discovery Room at Make-A-Wish Hawaii's headquarters in Honolulu. ⭐️ Mahalo to Domino's Hawaii for their continued support to transform lives, one wish at a time. 💙

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and you can create the turning point wish kids like Cruz need in their treatment and recovery. 💙 Cruz is a smart and energetic 9-year-old boy from Kailua who loves adventure and exploring new languages and cultures. A devastating cancer diagnosis brought Cruz’s family’s world to a halt. “Chemo is exhausting. Surgery is painful. The entire process is a bit scary,” says Cruz’s mom, Charlyn. Becoming a wish kid brought Cruz and his family hope when they needed it most. “Laying beside my kiddo in the hospital bed, scrolling through the iPad, and imagining all the places we could go took us away from all of that,” she shares. Cruz wished to go on a Disney Cruise, and his wish was granted last month! 🛳️ “The actual Disney cruise felt like a dream come true that we all desperately needed,” Charlyn says. Cruz had encounters with dolphins and manatees; explored Cozumel, Mexico; and enjoyed seemingly endless experiences aboard the Disney Magic cruise boat. This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, you can help bring smiles to keiki like Cruz. Make a gift today at hawaii.wish.org/donate ⭐️ #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth

Fuel up for a cause! 🚙✨ Aloha Petroleum, the gasoline marketer for Shell in Hawaii, is hosting its Giving Pump campaign in support of Make-A-Wish Hawaii! 💙 Through October 31, drivers can find specially marked Giving Pumps at select Shell stations across the state. For every gallon pumped, one cent will be donated to help us make life-changing wishes come true for keiki with critical illnesses. 💫 Find your nearest participating Shell station and make your next fill-up count! Mahalo for your support to bring hope and strength to keiki—one gallon at a time. ⛽️

Welcome, fall interns! 🍁✨ We're thrilled to have these talented wahine join our Communications, Development, Program Services, and Wish Assist teams. Your passion and dedication will help us continue to bring hope and joy to keiki with critical illnesses when they need it most. 💫 Please join us in giving Kitanna, Allison, Natalie, Lourdes, Shaina, and Mia a warm welcome to Make-A-Wish Hawaii! 💙 Spring internship applications will be accepted from September 1 through October 15. Visit wish.org/hawaii/intern-us to learn more!

Wish granted! ⭐️ Meet Wyn, an 18-year-old from Honolulu who has shown incredible courage in his battle against cancer this past year. Through it all, he’s found strength in his friendships. After enduring chemotherapy, Wyn’s wish was simple yet powerful: a shopping spree with his closest friends to create new memories together. Wyn’s day at Ala Moana Center was unforgettable! He found the perfect pair of shoes and accessories at Famous Footwear, cool new clothes at Zumiez, and some fun LEGOs at the LEGO Store. 👟🎒🧢 The sweet treats from IT’SUGAR were the cherry on top! 🍭 To recharge, Wyn and his friends enjoyed an entertaining and delicious lunch at Tanaka of Tokyo, where smiles and laughter filled the air. "I finally got the things I've been wanting since I was a kid," Wyn says. "What made it special was being there with my friends and getting to spend all this time with them." 💙 A heartfelt mahalo to Wyn’s Wish Granters, Christie and Austin, for their support throughout Wyn’s journey, and Wish Manager, Erika, and summer interns Kelsi and Zack for helping make Wyn’s wish day magical! If you’d like to help grant life-changing wishes for keiki like Wyn, visit hawaii.wish.org/donate. 💫

Maui wish keiki and their families wrapped up summer with laughter, creativity, and movie magic! 🎬🍿 Shya, a senior at Maui High School, hosted an unforgettable movie night for Maui wish kids and their families through Make-A-Wish Hawaii’s Kids For Wish Kids program. Wish Kids Annika, Hala‘i, James, Kameryn-Rylee, Michael, and Saione enjoyed making slime, crafting bracelets and coloring with siblings and their wish ‘ohana. They were treated to free toys and backpacks to set them up for success in the new school year. As they watched “Despicable Me,” they shared yummy snacks and lots of laughs. A big mahalo to our community partners who made it possible: FAM Clothing, Hawaiian Sweets Co., Sugar and Sprinkles Maui, Valley Isle Fellowship, Maui wish granters, and other kind-hearted supporters. 💙💫 Kids For Wish Kids empowers local students, schools, and youth organizations to get involved in philanthropy. Through this program, students like Shya showcase leadership, teamwork, and a heart for giving back. If you know someone who’d love to get involved, please reach out to Mission Impact Advisor James Donnelly at [email protected]. ⭐️ 📸: Lyric Ah Puck and Wish Families

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Wish Granter, we’ve got great news! The next statewide, virtual Wish Granter training session will be held Saturday, September 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 🗓️⁠ ⁠ Wish Granters work with a partner to meet with wish kids and their families to help determine their heartfelt wishes, and then work with our staff to make those wishes a reality. Each wish is a uniquely personal decision and represents hope, strength, and joy during an otherwise difficult time for a child facing a critical illness. ⁠ ⁠ Registration is limited! If you’re interested in attending, please email Will Phelps at [email protected].