Wish-Granting Process
While each wish-granting experience is unique for the child, their family and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Carolina, there is a general process by which a child is referred, qualified, and granted a wish.

Step 1: Wish Referral
Out of respect for the privacy of the children and families the Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Carolina serves, a child can be referred for a wish by one of the following three sources:

• Medical professionals treating the child-such as doctors, nurses, social
  workers, or child-life specialists.
• A parent or legal guardian of the potential wish child.
• The potential wish child.

If the initial call comes from someone other than those listed above, we always ask that the family be notified to call directly on their own behalf.
If you would like to refer a child for a wish, please call our Charleston office at (843) 853-7880 or (800) 293-9474.

Step 2: Determining Eligibility
Any child between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18 suffering from a diagnosed life-threatening medical condition may be eligible for a wish. The child’s treating physician makes the final determination of whether a child is medically eligible to receive a wish and whether the child is able to participate in a particular wish. The safety of each wish child is the utmost concern of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of SC. Therefore, Make-A-Wish works closely with each child’s treating physician to ensure that a wish in no way will compromise a child’s treatment plan or well-being.

In order to be eligible for a wish, a child cannot have received a prior wish from Make-A-Wish or another wish-granting organization. We do not discriminate due to race, religion or financial status.

Step 3: Identifying A Wish
After the physician confirms the child is medically eligible to receive a wish, we assign a volunteer wish team to coordinate the wish-granting process.

When a wish team first visits with a child, the volunteers begin by asking a simple question: "If you could have one wish, what would it be?" They also find out what second wishes would be (just in case the first one is not approved by the doctor, or is one of the few wishes our chapter cannot endorse).

Most wishes fall into one of four categories: “I wish to go…, I wish to be…, I wish to meet…, I wish to have…”

Step 4: Fulfilling the Wish
Once a child’s wish is approved by their physician and the Foundation, the child's wish granters and local Make-A-Wish professionals work to create a magical wish experience. Quite often, the impact of a wish will touch the lives of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people who help to fulfill the child's wish.

For more information on the wish-granting process or referring a child, please call our Charleston office at (843) 853-7880 or (800) 293-9474.