Hilversum, September 1, 2026 – This September, more than 13,000 children across the Make-A-Wish® International network will be diagnosed with cancer and become eligible for a wish. During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Make-A-Wish is calling on the public to help bring the life-changing impact of a wish to more children facing cancer around the world.
A cancer diagnosis can dramatically alter a child’s life, replacing school days with hospital visits and plans for the future with fear and uncertainty. For families, the emotional and physical toll can be immense. Wishes have been shown to improve physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing. They can help restore hope, build confidence and empower children to look beyond their illness towards new possibilities.
For Jerida, a 16-year-old from Tanzania living with squamous cell carcinoma, those possibilities once seemed to be slipping away. Determined to become a tailor, she spent a year working and saving for tailoring school and her first sewing machine, before her diagnosis forced her to use those savings for treatment. When Make-A-Wish Tanzania granted her wish for a sewing machine, it gave her more than the tools she needed to sew. It renewed her confidence, reignited her ambitions and helped her begin rebuilding the future she feared she had lost.
The beginning of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month also coincides with Dorothee van Vredenburch assuming the position of President and CEO of Make-A-Wish International.
“As I take up the role of President and CEO of Make-A-Wish International, I am inspired by stories like Jerida’s and the life-changing impact a wish can create,” said Dorothee van Vredenburch. “Every child is unique, and so is every wish. Wishes may look very different from country to country, but their impact can be remarkably similar, helping children facing cancer rediscover hope, build confidence and look towards the future with renewed possibility. This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we are asking people around the world to help us bring that impact to more children.”
Supporters can help grant more life-changing wishes for children facing cancer by donating, fundraising or sharing the campaign. Every contribution helps Make-A-Wish International reach more eligible children around the world. To learn more or get involved, visit worldwish.org.
/ENDS
About Make-A-Wish International
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, having granted more than 650,000 wishes in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Every 25 seconds, a child is diagnosed with a critical illness and becomes eligible for a wish. Wish experiences can restore the childhood stolen by a critical illness diagnosis and improve physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 27,000 volunteers around the globe, Make-A-Wish brings the power of a wish-come-true to children and their families when they need it most. For more information about Make-A-Wish International, visit worldwish.org.
