Make-A-Wish® Wyoming seeks volunteers in Laramie County

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (PRESS RELEASE) - Make-A-Wish® Wyoming is actively seeking wish-granting volunteers in the Cheyenne area.

These volunteers work closely with local wish kids and families as representatives of Make-A-Wish Wyoming. They are involved in many aspects of the wish process, including helping explore the heart of the child’s wish, assisting families with paperwork if needed and celebrating wish milestones along the way.

More than 60 volunteers currently serve wish children across the state, but Laramie County needs more wish granters to keep pace with the number of wish children in the area. Make-A-Wish welcomes wish granters from all over the state at any time. The chapter is working to grant 51 wishes across the state, including the wishes of eight children in Laramie County.

Ideal wish granters are compassionate and creative, with strong communication skills. They share the goal of ensuring that every child and every family enjoy an incredible wish experience.

Sandi Riley of Cheyenne has been helping grant wishes for over ten years. Her favorite part of the wish experience is getting to tell the family their wish is granted. She loves getting to know the family and then giving them the great news and seeing all their smiles. “I have so many wish memories, they are all special, all different, but in the end it’s all about the happiness.”

Sandi is a wish mom herself, and she will never forget what Make-A-Wish did for her family. That feeling of gratefulness is what inspires her to continue to help make others going through tough times have some positives. Her advice for new volunteers is “to be patient with the wish family. All families are different and going through a lot, we are there to be positive and bring joy.”

To learn more about the organization or apply to become a wish granter, please email our Operations Manager Michele Lloyd at mlloyd@wyoming.wish.org or call 307-234-9474. Wish granters must undergo a background check and training session (remote learning opportunities are available).

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with critical illnesses. To be eligible to receive a wish, a child must be between 2½ and 18 years old and have a critical illness that is placing his or her life in jeopardy at the time of the referral. In a national survey, 89 percent of surveyed health care professionals told Make-A-Wish they believe the wish experience can influence kids’ physical health, while 97 percent of surveyed families said they saw improvements in their child’s emotional health. To refer a child, visit www.wyoming.wish.org/refer.

About Make-A-Wish Wyoming: Celebrating 36 years of granting the wishes of Wyoming children with critical illnesses, Make-A-Wish Wyoming has brought hope, strength and joy to over 640 Wyoming children through its wish-granting process. For more information about the Wyoming chapter, please visit www.wyoming.wish.org