Your guide to sharing your story
Hi Wish Families. If you're trying to decide whether you want to share your wish, this page will help you understand the options.
Background
Options for providing marketing consent
Sometimes, wish families share their stories with our #WishForce community and supporters. We feel really lucky when we share wish stories because it helps:
- Raise money for more wishes
- Make sure our donors and supporters can see how we spend our money
- Show other families who might be thinking about applying for a wish what it's like
Sharing your wish experience can also have benefits for families, such as the capture of beautiful, professional photos, videos and stories to remember your wish by. Still, it's not for everyone. If you're trying to decide whether to share your wish, this guide should help you understand the options and what to expect.
What is marketing consent?
Marketing consent means that you have given us permission to share your family's story. You can choose from different levels of consent that suit your situation.
It's important to us that all wish families feel safe in sharing their stories and that we are as flexible as possible if things change.
Please note, providing marketing consent does not guarantee your story will be shared. Make-A-Wish will guide and support you with any media or content opportunities that arise.
Your wish experience is always our number one priority, and your decision about whether to tell your story will have no impact on how your child's Wish Journey unfolds.
Levels of marketing consent
Giving permission to share your story publicly (which includes in writing, imagery and/or video) means it may be used by Make-A-Wish and our partners, via some or all of the following channels: social media, websites, mail, email, phone, and advertising (including but not limited to billboard, tv, print and radio advertising).
If you choose to share your story, we kindly ask that you select a level of involvement, which outline the ways Make-A-Wish and its partners may use your story.
- No consent: If you tick this option, we will not share your family’s story.
- Unnamed approval: If you tick this option, we may share your story without any names. You can see an example of this below.
- Make-A-Wish and business partner approval: If you tick this option, we may share your story (this includes in writing, imagery and video) through Make-A-Wish and business partners channels, for example: website, social media and newsletter stories. We will not use your child’s surname or suburb.
- Full media approval: If you tick this option, we may share your story in Make-A-Wish and business partner channels, as well as with media outlets. These could include television, radio, newspapers, magazines and online.
1. No consent
You don't have to give consent to share your story. If you decide to keep your experience private, we'll make sure that no details are shared for publicity reasons.
We'll only share your information when we're talking to suppliers who are helping to make your child's wish come true.
2. Unnamed consent
We may share the wish child's age, medical condition, state and wish description but no photos or names.
- For example: " A six-year-old Tigers fan from Victoria, fighting leukaemia, wished to go fishing with his dad."
We often use anonymous wish information when we are talking to fundraisers, to let them know what kinds of wishes are happening in their local area. This helps fundraisers understand how their donations are used.
3. Make-A-Wish and Partner shares
Consenting to marketing with Make-A-Wish and our partners means you're open to us sharing your wish more publicly, using images and videos that you provide (or we capture during your wish) to help tell the story.
Your wish story could appear in places like our website, on our social media channels and in our newsletters. It might also be printed onto leaflets and banners for use at different events.
We have lots of business partners who give their support and donate funds to make wishes come true. We share stories with them so that they can let their employees and customers know how they're helping us. This means that your story could appear on their social media, website or promotions too (we'll let you know before it happens).
Check out some examples of wish stories and partner campaigns on our website.
4. Full media approval
Full media approval means you're really comfortable sharing your story. You and your child would be happy to speak to newspapers and TV crews. You're also happy for images and video from your wish experience to be shared through our networks.
Some examples of big media wishes include Dylan's wish to save Perth airport, Scarlett's wish to see a unicorn fly and Archie's wish to be captain of the Australian cricket team.
If you give permission for full media approval, Make-A-Wish will lookout for opportunities to share your wish, although please note this does not guarantee your story will be shared publicly. If opportunities do arise, this might mean that there are some extra people around during your wish, capturing the special moments. It also means that there might be a few meetings with us or the media to chat about your wish experience.
Don't worry, we'll support you every step of the way and all of our photographers and videographers are fully qualified, vetted and trained to make sure they don't interrupt the wish.
Changing your mind
Prior to deciding how to share your story, we ask that you talk with your child and discuss as a family your potential involvement in any promotional or media activities with Make-A-Wish. If you have any questions at any time, please contact our Wish team via wishes@makeawish.org.au or 1800 032 260.
If circumstances change or you decide that you're no longer comfortable sharing your story, please call us on 1800 032 260. We'll do everything we can to make sure your story isn't available anymore.
Tips for how to share your child’s Wish Journey
We know that being involved in a wish is a really exciting time – and it’s only natural you’ll want to share the experience! As a trusted children’s charity, protecting your child and family’s privacy is of utmost importance. There are also key differences between sharing wishes in your personal channels and public media.
We’ve developed some helpful guidelines on how to handle requests from the media and sharing your child’s Wish Journey safely on your own social media pages.
Wish children whose images feature on this page:
Jazmyn, 7, post meningococcal syndrome - I wish to become a mermaid and meet my mermaid friends.
Abigail, 6, cystic fibrosis - I wish to fly on a unicorn to unicornland.
Archie, 6, congenital heart disease - I wish to be Australia’s newest Cricket Captain.
Rory, 5, disseminated glioneuronal tumor - I wish to spend a day with my friend Batman.
Audrey, 6, retinoblastoma - I wish to go to the snow in my own rocket.
Jax, 6, melanotic neuroectodermal tumour of infancy - I wish for a secret hideaway treehouse (cubby) in my new backyard.