Nonprofit seeks donations of airline miles to help grant wishes
Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire and Santa Ana’s John Wayne Airport recently kicked off Trips That Transform, a monthlong celebration of the travel wishes granted to children with critical illnesses and the donors that make granting the wishes possible.
With 75% of wishes requiring air travel, MakeA-Wish needs more than 40 million airline miles annually to fulfill travel wishes for children and their families living in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to a news release.
To support granting more wishes, John Wayne Airport is promoting the Trips That Transform campaign throughout the month of August with displays throughout the terminal encouraging travelers to donate airline miles.
Once donated to Make-A-Wish, airline miles and points never expire, and they all help wish kids and their families fly to destinations around the world.
People may donate airline miles and points at ocair.com/wish.
“We are thrilled to partner with Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire to help grant more travel wishes,” Charlene Reynolds, airport director at John Wayne Airport, said in the news release. “We encourage all who travel through John Wayne Airport to join us by donating their unused, low-balance or soon-to-expire miles to help wish kids take flight.”
“Travel wishes are more than a trip; they are often an essential component of a wish kid’s treatment plan. In our recent Wish Impact Study, we found that 90% of medical providers observed children increase their compliance with treatment after learning they would receive a wish,” Gloria Jetter Crockett, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire, said in the news release.
Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire, founded in 1983, is one of 60 Make-AWish chapters throughout the United States. Since the chapter’s founding, it has granted more than 7,500 wishes for children.
For information, go to wish.org/ocie.