Imagine the happiness on a child’s face when they received their most wanted wish. Whether it is to visit their favorite park or to meet a celebrity. Make-A-Wish’s mission is: Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illness. The foundation grants children their most desired wish. However, for this to be possible, they need other people’s support in the form of money or in kind. The organization is a highly recognized charity group and it currently grants over 12,000 wishes a year. Having a dream come true will become an important memory and donating money or any other form of support creates a chain reaction. Children in critical stages of their medical conditions may require assistance and the very little that one can donate could change their lives for the comfort and in some cases, even heal them. Despite these life-changing contributions to children’s life, the organization may have a number of loopholes with regard to implementation of their values, mission, vision and strategies. Therefore, the essay explores some of the problems that are imminent and the paper proposes ways to improve the criteria and classification of the children that should be eligible to make a wish.
Study by Make A Wish shows that wish granting experience improves medical outcomes of children (2017). In the study, 66 children were evaluated using assessment tools that quantify hope, emotions, quality of life and anxiety (Make a Wish 1). The results show that the wish empowers children to fight harder against their illnesses. Therefore, the institution not only offers great-experience but also enhances improvement of the quality life for children and their family. Medical practitioners argue that the patients tend to feel better and respond to treatment protocols and regimens. Make-A-Wish foundation has many good aspects which makes it very popular and charitable cause, but it has its problems.
Relevant problems/Challenges
To begin with, the criteria for the children to be eligible to make a wish does not cover a wider spectrum. For children to be qualified, they have to be referred by: a doctor, parent or legal guardian and a potential wish-child. A kid with a life threatening condition between the ages of 3 and 17 is potentially eligible (Sparks 30). After referral, the treating physician has to determine whether the kid meets the right medical requirements. If they do not meet the minimum standards, then they are turned down. More so, a child is not allowed to make a wish if they receive a wish from another wish-granting organization. The procedure and guidelines for granting the wish keeps in mind the treatment protocol. The wish falls into 5 key categories namely: I wish to have, I wish to go, I wish to give, I wish to meet and I wish to be. It is for these reasons that this paper seeks to come up with a way to create a more inclusive style method that can be applied by the organization.
Secondly, one challenge that Make-A-Wish foundation has is the preconceived notion that only children with terminal illness get to make a wish. It is not the business of the organization to diagnose the illness and therefore, if the child does not meet the basis of a terminal illness, they may not be granted their wish. Thirdly, the organization does not define clearly what falls under the blanket of critical illness. The seriousness of a disease has not been made clear by the organization. Some children for instance have been told that they would not be granted theirs wish because their illnesses are not serious enough (Sparks 24).
How to improve/Solutions
Clear up on website criteria for what illnesses meet the specification
The fundamental factors that should elaborate the illness specifications in the website include: severity of illness, criteria for selection and credibility of the referees. Today, the foundational leaders should seek structures and capacities that make the organization greater than the sum of grants and operations. The company’s website should therefore identify the conditions that are cut out as terminal illnesses and the levels at which they may grant the child a wish (Houran and Deborah 200). The organization should also develop a tired communication strategy that provides different levels of detail regarding a certain project. Currently, the website is a giant document containing thousands of documents housed with folders with no discernible order. The only feature that one navigate with is the search option. The main purpose of a well-organized website is to make sure that employees are not surprised by an imminent project and more importantly, to educate the website visitors on the conditions and specific policies about the company. Ways that that the website can be improved include distinguishing the search box from the user interface, positioning the search box at the highest point on the page and automatically placing the cursor on the search box.
The organization is clear that ill-kids up to the age of 17 can be granted the wish. However, the website does that show if an illness survivor can also get a wish. Therefore, the foundation’s website needs to be precise on the limits that kids should expect. The institution can come up with a hero program that provides wishes for kids who have overcome life-changing circumstances. Moreover, they should not limit the referrals to doctors and guardians, Referrals should be all encompassed and therefore, it can include family members, nurses, friends and social workers. Another recommendation that is logical is the involvement of adults in the program. Families with advanced illness should enjoy time together. Moreover, foundation grants can be granted to terminally-ill adults especially those with a life expectancy or one year or less. However, budgetary restrictions should be considered (Houran and Deborah 134).
Proposed strategy
One proposal that could be effective is through putting an ad on Television in order to spread the word to the older demographic because they are more likely to watch television than go online. TVs are the main source of information for older generations. Older people are likely to read newspapers and watch television while younger people rely on breaking news from social media and websites (Houran and Deborah 12). The digital divide is applicable in promoting the institution’s brand. Like any other business, the organization needs to also target younger generations. The use of social media is imperative in attracting potential donors. The organization is likely to get a better return on its investment when it takes time to engage with its audience. Engaging social media fans creates a more involved constituency which results in long-term partnership with the organization. It is important to note that the organization should personal and authentic when interacting with potential sponsors. Establishing relationships and connecting at a personal level is likely to attract a bigger audience.
Open a new category on the website
Moreover, the website should also open a category on the website that specifies the least amounts that kids cannot get for their wish to be made possible. To enhance external and internal communication, the institution should conduct an anonymous survey on the thoughts of potential individuals who require the services. Once the research has been carried out, the raw data should be matched against the measurable objectives of the foundation. Data collection can also be conducted through polls and employee interviews. Good quality communication can be promoted though director’s newsletters, email briefings, company magazines and internal messaging.
State more clearly how the procedure is and resolve the issues surrounding what illnesses
The organization should state clearly how the procedure is done and how to resolve the issues around the specifications of the kind of illness. For this objective to be achieved, the foundation should embrace technology and diffuse the best practices with health and social care services (Vaughan and Michelle 9). To improve competence, allocative efficiency is imperative. Consequently, volunteers will be convinced to donate and there will be a continuous long-term commitment to the foundation (Worth 59). Overall this should help people get a better understanding of this foundation and hopefully now will consider this foundation.
Partnerships, Shared Concepts and Frameworks
Make-A-Wish organization should also develop shared concepts and frameworks that can be used as a basis for partnerships with other foundations. To avoid a situation where a kid is turned down because they have been granted a wish by another organization, they should make an agreement that a coherent conceptual framework can be considered in order to make the children happy without necessarily spending too much (Worth 45). Moreover, the foundation needs to embrace strategies such as increased relevance and strategic analysis in evaluating the best ways to serve its objectives. Among other recommendations include partnership with patient and family support organizations. These organizations offer camping programs, travel assistance and housing facilities (Blake 19). Some treatment and prevention services are also devoted to providing medical education and direct medical services. Consequently, children will not be forced to look for their own doctors to certify whether their condition allows them to make a wish. Critics argue that children are granted extravagant wishes but all they do is offer short-term relief. Instead, they should campaign for courses that actually help the children in the long term. Therefore, the paper proposes an enriching experience through sourcing medical research that entails both children with terminal illness as well as those with preventable diseases. Medical research hubs also focus on cures for long term illnesses and developing new treatments (Worth 56). Other than granting the wish, they could still help the kids in the road to recovery. Like most wish-granting establishments, the foundation should find a way to offer accommodation.
Conclusion
Make-A-Wish foundation is undoubtedly doing a wonderful job in making children’s experiences come true. The wish experience heightens the ability to see best in others and at the same time help needy people. Wishes is not just a singular vent because it impacts on everyone involved including the donors, communities and medical professionals. However, there are various challenges that the paper addresses in order to enhance a more efficient charitable organization. Among the possible solutions include creation of a website that potential volunteers can easily navigate, use of different forms of media for different demographics, re-inventing conceptual framework and improving the procedures and policies to resolve issues surrounding the illnesses that qualify for a wish.
Works Cited
Blake, Ashley H. How to Make a Wish. , 2017. Print.
Houran, Lori H, and Deborah Melmon. Make a Wish, Albert!, 2015. Internet resource.
Make a Wish. Your Support will help us grant more magical wishes. 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.makeawish.ie/our-wishes/the-wish-process
Sparks, Rachelle. Once Upon a Wish: True Inspirational Stories of Make-a-Wish Children. , 2013. Print.
Vaughan, Shannon K, and Michelle Arsneault. Managing Nonprofit Organizations in a Policy World. , 2013. Internet resource.
Worth, Michael J. Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE, 2012. Print.
