2017

Take the First Step Toward Hope

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

2017

Lace up your shoes and bring hope, strength, and joy to children in your community battling life-threatening medical conditions!

Walk For Wishes® is a community-wide event to grant the wishes of Vermont children. Families, friends, businesses, clubs, schools, and community members are invited to enjoy a family-friendly walk with festivities, food, and fun. It enables you to be a part of something truly life-changing for children in your community. A wish-come-true is more than a trip, special meeting with a favorite celebrity, new laptop, or being a police officer for a day; it empowers a child to fight harder against his or her illness. For many children, it marks a positive turning point in their fight for health.

Walk For Wishes may last just a couple of hours, but the funds raised by you and your team will provide memories that will last a lifetime. Learn more about Walk For Wishes in this Participant Guide, and register today at www.walkforwishesvt.org.

EVENT INFORMATION

DATE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017

LOCATION: Centennial Field,

Burlington

• Registration beings at 2:00 pm

• Opening Ceremony at 3:00 pm

• Walk begins at 3:30 pm

• Post-walk festivities to follow

• The walk is for participants of all ages

• Wish Kids will be in attendance

• Walk For Wishes includes a ticket to a

Vermont Lake Monster’s Game!

OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT

WALK FOR WISHES SPONSOR: Connect with your community by becoming a Walk For Wishes sponsor. Your company can benefit from a range of marketing exposure. Contact Casey McMorrow at casey@vermont.wish.org for more information.

BUILD A TEAM: Get your friends, family, and colleagues to share your investment in the Make-A- Wish mission. We have all the tools you need to build a team, have fun, and fundraise to help grant Vermont wishes!

BUILD A CORPORATE TEAM: Form a company-wide employee walk team or form teams by department, location, or branch.

JOIN A TEAM: Fundraise by joining an existing team or signing up as an individual walker. Our Walk For Wishes website will make it easy for you to reach your individual fundraising goal.

CAN’T JOIN US AT WALK FOR WISHES?

You can still sign up to be a virtual walker and help

raise funds online at www.walkforwishesvt.org.

ABOUT US

WHAT TYPES OF WISHES ARE GRANTED?

Wishes are only limited by a child’s imagination. Wishes fall into one of the following four categories:

“I WISH TO GO...”

“I WISH TO HAVE...”

“I WISH TO MEET...”

“I WISH TO BE...”

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A

WISH? Before a wish can be granted, three criteria must be met:

• The child must be between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 years old at the time of referral.

• The child must be medically qualified by their physician.

• The child must not have received a previous wish from Make-A-Wish or any other wish- granting organization.

WISHES BY THE NUMBERS

1989 The year our chapter began granting wishes to local children.

775+ The number of wishes our chapter has granted since our inception in 1989.

38 Average number of wishes our chapter grants a year ($10,000 AVG COST PER WISH)

WHY DO WE DO IT?

89% of healthcare referral sources surveyed

say that the wish experience influences Wish Kids’ physical health.*

96% of healthcare referral sources observe

increases in Wish Kids’ emotional health.*

98% of parents surveyed felt the wish

experience gave them the opportunity to be a “normal” family again.* *NATIONAL SURVEY OF THE MAKE-A-WISH COMMUNITY, INCLUDING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, WISH FAMILIES, AND VOLUNTEERS CONDUCTED BY TCC GROUP FROM 2010 THROUGH 2011

Noah is fascinated by fire trucks, ambulances, and all things related to police and rescue. His one true wish was to visit the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments!

Noah, 8 St. George, VT

START A TEAM TODAY 2017

1. REGISTER Visit www.walkforwishesvt.org to access the registration site.

2. RECRUIT Once you have registered and set up your fundraising page online, you can start recruiting. Team members can be anyone - friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors. Promote Walk For Wishes and invite prospective team members to join your team through social media. Challenge each team member to set a fundraising goal.

3. RAISE MONEY Set a goal and create a plan on how to get there. Share the story of a Wish Child with your team. Our online fundraising tools will help you fundraise. Your individualized page is your center for everything you need. You can set your fundraising goal, view your statistics (number of emails you’ve sent, number of donations and registrations), and make sure you have done everything you can to reach and exceed your fundraising goal!

4. CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS! Event day is an opportunity for your team to celebrate their fundraising success and meet Wish families who have benefited from your fundraising efforts.

Merin had never watched television or movies before she got sick at the age of 3, but when she started spending so much time in the hospital for treatment, her parents let her watch Frozen. Merin and her family watched it over and over and over again! Merin’s one true wish was to meet Anna and Elsa.

Make-A-Wish Vermont celebrated its 700th wish with Merin!

Merin, 4 Burlington, VT

FUNDRAISING TIPS

START EARLY WANT TO RAISE FUNDS OFFLINE?

• Develop a list of potential friends and family to ask to support you. Include people from your holiday card list. Include people you see regularly - your dry cleaner, day care provider, banker, physician, dentist, hair stylist, car dealer, and real estate agent.

• Instill passion! Share a few of our Wish Kids’ stories from our website and Facebook page so that people know what an

impact these wishes have on local kids

suffering from life- threatening medical

conditions.

SEND A FUNDRAISING LETTER • Create a letter to send. Be sure to add your

personal story and motivation for being a Walk For Wishes participant.

SET ASIDE A TIME TO CALL • Refer to your potential list and identify

those individuals you want to call and ask for a donation.

RAISE MONEY ONLINE ASK IN PERSON • Register online and personalize your Walk

For Wishes web page with a photo and short story of why you think it is important to raise money for Make-A-Wish Vermont.

• Add your personal touches to emails before

sending to friends and family. They are much more likely to respond to a personal and passionate story.

• Identify those individuals you will see in a meeting, or at the soccer field, in church, at school or work, and ask for a donation.

CONTACT: Casey McMorrow

casey@vermont.wish.org

802-864-9393 x104