Since our Australian beginnings in 1985, Make-A-Wish has relied on the generous support of the community to bring inspirational wishes to over 10,000 wish kids.
And now, through the SCA Embrace program which has partnered with us to provide in-kind advertising opportunities, even more critically ill children will be able to find hope in the challenges they face.
This generosity means we are can now reach millions of people around Australia to create even more incredible wishes.
Through the Make-A-Wish ‘Be Inspired’ program, and this important partnership with SCA Embrace, we will be able to reach millions of Australians across the country and make even more incredible wishes come true for children with critical illnesses.
Sally Bateman, CEO Make-A-Wish® Australia
Meet our inspirational Make-A-Wish stars and see them in our new TV commercials!
Learn about their Make-A-Wish journeys, something that not only bring joy and hope but also comfort and support by shining a light on a sick child’s and their family’s world when it can appear daunting and dark. Even though these are single stories, they speak for every one of our wish kids, their families, our volunteers, and partners who are all stars.
Introducing our TV stars - Cooper, Mackenzie, Bridgette, Kobe, Andrea, Callum and Louise.
Cooper Greenwood
Just before he turned 2, crusader Cooper with his gorgeous smile was diagnosed with Aicardi-Goitieres Syndrome. Now, Sydney-based Cooper is about to turn 9 in July! Whizzing around school in motorized wheelchairs and using standing frames to help improve overall strength and flexibility, Cooper is getting super excited about his snow trip in September!
Mackenzie Hulthen
Soon 10-year-old Mackenzie will be able to connect with her heritage in Uluru now her wish to visit there and see the wondrous Field of Light has been granted. Wonderfully outgoing, creative, and artistic, Mackenzie really wants to get to know her place in Australia’s indigenous culture after learning all about her grandmother.
Bridgette Finlayson
Five years ago, when she was 7, Bridgette’s family gave her a pet Bearded Dragon just to satisfy her wish for a pet! Horse obsessed and with a love to ride that’s been put on hold for more than a year, she’s about to get a beautiful new gentle pony, Prada, in answer to her wish for a horse to take to pony club and learn to ride again.
Kobe Duck
Earlier this year, Kobe was able to see out his wish of living it up in his own mansion - just like his favourite YouTubers - complete with his own basketball court and go kart track. Three years earlier, motor-bike riding Kobe had woken up one day paralysed from a rare disease that affects the spinal cord. So for Kobe, watching YouTuber stars in hospital was a needed distraction.
Andrea Alzened
Meet Andrea Alzened, former wish kid now Wish Ambassador whose wish to be an artist came true in 2015. Then, Andrea’s inspirational wish helped her become the youngest artist ever to be exhibited in her very own exhibition space at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Sydney! Not only that, but Andrea was also invited by Google to create a Make-A-Wish Google Doodle, having the chance to collaborate with a US-based Google designer. Back in 2014, when she was 10, Andrea was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Callum Price
Meet Callum, former wish kid and now a proud Wish Ambassador, 10 years after his wish to see the Red Bull X Fighters came true in 2011. After a kidney transplant from his mum at the age of 16, Callum went on the trip of a lifetime to meet his hero and motorbike daredevil Robbie Maddison in Italy. Callum travelled over with his parents and younger sister, which meant the world to him.
Louise Borg
Bubbly, effervescent and committed. These three words spring to mind when thinking about Louise Borg, current President of Make-A-Wish’s Western Sydney branch. Louise joined in 2002 and has since helped with over 200 wishes and countless fundraising activities! As a founding volunteer Louise has done almost every job there is to do in a branch. She’s been branch secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president a couple of times over the years, all while keeping up with everyday volunteering to capture wishes and make them come true.
Wish children whose images feature on this page:
Cooper, 8, I wish to go to the snow for the first time to throw snowballs - IFIHI generic aicardi goitieres syndrome
Mackenzie. 10, I wish to go to Uluru to connect to my indigenous heritage and see the field of light -
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Bridgette, 12, I wish to have a gentle horse to take to pony club and learn to ride again - Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumour (ATRT)
Kobe, 9, I wish to live like a YouTuber - Acute Flaccid Myelitis