For Melissa, a young woman with obstructive hydrocephalus, getting to work with a veterinarian at the Indianapolis Zoo, ride horses at Blue Ridge Farm, and spend one-on-one time with a dolphin was a whirlwind of glee and a welcome break from medical treatments.  

For thousands of Hoosier kids with life-threatening illnesses, Indiana Wish offers joyful experiences that give families a chance to enjoy each other away from the daily stresses of serious medical conditions. The organization has provided dream vacations, like exploring the national parks of Montana, seeing Hamilton—and meeting the cast after the show, and exploring the Freedom Trail and Revolutionary War sites in Boston. It set up a woodworking shop for Jamison and provided a service dog who detects dangerous blood sugar changes for Kendal, who lives with rare type 3c diabetes.  

Since it was founded in 1984, Indiana Wish has made wishes come true for nearly 3,600 kids all over Indiana.

Research shows that the kinds of experiences Indiana Wish makes possible go way beyond the moments of relief and happiness they provide. Kids come away from their wishes energized, and they experience a heightened sense of contentment and fewer bouts of depression over the months that follow.  

Indiana Wish often hears from kids that their wish helped them stay strong through treatments. Parents report that the wish experience was the first time they’d felt “normal” in years. 

As one mom put it after Indiana Wish arranged for her family to visit Disney World (the most-requested travel wish) to fulfill her son Matt’s wish, “After years of pain and worry, it was the most wonderful experience of having a family vacation together where we literally didn’t have to worry about anything except having fun together.” 

Indiana’s first-ever wish was to see a Cubs game and meet Harry Caray. That was more than four decades ago, and wishes since have run the gamut but tend to fall into one of four categories: to go, have, be, or meet. No matter the wish, the result is the same: joy, resolve, and increased well-being.

Ensuring these benefits takes a lot of time (usually 6–12 months for a travel wish) and money (on average, $12,000 per wish). Indiana Wish customizes every experience to the interests, needs, and abilities of the child. That means not just arranging for involvement from, say, the country singer a kid has always admired and the travel arrangements to bring them together but additional concerns like conducting a medical review to ensure safety, planning around treatments, arranging appropriate accommodations throughout the experience.

Know someone who you think might qualify for a wish? Anyone can refer a child to Indiana Wish. Kids who live in Indiana, fall between ages 3–18, and have life-threatening conditions are eligible.

Turning a wish into a real-life experience is about more than the immediate joy the experience brings to the child. It’s also about the important ripple effects that joy brings: reduced anxiety, fewer episodes of depression, and less distress during a difficult time.  

You can help Indiana Wish improve the quality of life for kids with a life-threatening illness in a number of ways:  

All of the funding for Indiana Wish’s work comes from its own fundraising efforts; the organization is not affiliated with any other local or national wish-granting organization. Indiana Wish and the kids it serves throughout the state depend on the funds that come directly to making wishes come true in Indiana.