The
WISH PROJECT FOUNDATION
is an organization founded by Robbie Robinson to grant the wishes of children who have suffered life-altering tragedy and to raise awareness of psychological conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Wish Project will grant the wishes of children who have suffered such tragedies and seek to remind them that hope is alive, and there is happiness beyond their tragic circumstance.
CHILDREN MAY QUALIFY FOR A WISH
If a child has suffered a life-altering tragedy that has affected their physical and/or psychological development they may qualify for a Wish Project wish granting experience. Examples of life-altering tragedy consist of experiences that traumatize a child and/or lead to long term psychological conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. A child who has been violently bullied for a period of time and has been brutally attacked on the playground, leaving him/her in the hospital and afraid to play in a park again would be an example of a life-altering tragedy.
When a child loses a parent and this is always sad, however, losing a parent in itself would not qualify as a life-altering tragedy for the purposes of qualifying for a Wish Project wish. If the child is a special needs child with only one living parent, and he/she is living in extreme poverty without even a TV to pass time at home as his/her mother is dying to stage 4 cancer in front of them…and this child’s future is uncertain leaving him/her terrified and vulnerable then he/she may qualify for a wish.(In fact, this is actually the description of the first wish we granted).
There are obvious cases that would clearly qualify for a wish based on the child suffering extreme life-altering tragedies. For example, if a child witnesses his father shoot his mother/siblings/and, or himself this would be life-altering as would witnessing a brutal crime such as murder, rape, etc… A child who has been brutally beaten, raped/molested, etc…this is obviously a life-altering tragedy. Unfortunately there have been many children who have been abused, and while I would love to grant a wish for every one of these children, I am limited as to the number of wishes I am able to grant at this time and so we much consider each referral and choose the cases that are most qualified based on the level of trauma a child has suffered and the long term effects this trauma has or will likely have on the child.
Life-altering tragedy can occur in many different situations and so each wish referral will be considered individually based on the child’s traumatic experience, the physical and psychological effects the experience has had on the child, and the potential benefit a wish could bring to the child.
WISHES
The Wish Project is a non-profit and currently the bulk of the funding for the wishes being granted is coming from singer Robbie Robinson and the GIMRecords Inc record label as he has dedicated 100% of his latest album’s profits to the Wish Project. While we hope to gain the support of businesses and individuals across America in order to continue granting more and more wishes, at this point we must work within a limited budget in order to start the Wish Project Tour granting a minimum of 10 wishes. So obviously we cannot afford to send a child to Paris, or London, or Hong Kong, etc… Currently the maximum budget for each wish is $3000 each. As the Wish Project grows this may change, but to guarantee 10 wishes to start this maximum budget is necessary.
So as we meet the Wish Kid that has been selected by the Wish Team based on their referral, we will give them various ideas of the kind of things they could wish for. Each child will give us 3 wishes and the board will review and select one of the wishes to grant. This will give way for us to grant as child’s wish even when their first wish is beyond the scope of what we are able to do. When a child is considering what to wish for the wish granter could and should suggest and explain these common wishes:
1
SHOPPING SPREE
The wish kid will be picked up in a limousine, taken to lunch or dinner at the restaurant of their choice, & receive $2000 to spend at any store(s) they choose to shop.
2
ATTEND EVENTS
(Concerts, Sporting Events)
A child may wish to attend concerts or sporting events and these wishes may include meeting the child’s favorite singer/athlete. However, we cannot guarantee this as singers/athletes may or may not work in cooperation with us to make this possible. Therefore, this possibility should never be mentioned to the child. If we are able to arrange for the wish kid to meet their favorite singer/athlete then this will be a surprise for them. Events should be as close to the child’s hometown as possible so as to remain within the $3K budget limit.
3
WISHES TO CONSIDER
Children may come up with wishes that we have never considered, and some may be possible while many may not be possible. This is why kids will give 3 wishes for us to consider. For example, if a child loves to sing and their wish is to sing in concert then this is a wish that we can likely make happen although we have not had a wish like this yet. We certainly do not want to limit our wishes, or even appear to limit our wishes to that of the shopping spree as there are many many options for wish kids to choose from.
THE PROCESS
1
A person may refer a child to the Wish Project by visiting the website and choosing the Wish Kid Referral link. They will fill out the online referral and provide the child’s information(name, age, grade level, school, address, parent/guardian and their contact information.) Each referral will include a description of the child’s life-altering traumatic experience.
2
The Wish Team(made up of Wish Project Board Members) will review each referral and choose the referred child that has suffered traumatic circumstances and would likely benefit the most from a positive wish experience.
3
The parent/guardian of the selected wish kid candidate will be contacted by the Wish granter. The Wish Granter will meet or speak with the Wish Kid to explain how wishes are granted and to record 3 wishes the child would like. The wish granter will be trained and will guide the child to choose wishes that are within the boundaries set by the Wish Project. Once three wishes have been recorded, the wish granter will submit the wishes to the Wish Team.
4
The Wish Team will review the wish requests and approve the wish that is the best option, within the budget, & within the guidelines required for each wish.