The health and safety of all Make-A-Wish East Tennessee constituents, including our wish families and partners, is our priority. At this time, due to current medical and public concerns Make-A-Wish America has made the difficult decision to postpone all wish travel, as well as wish kid participation in all activities and events related to Make-A-Wish that involve large gatherings (e.g. large scale wish granting events, theme parks, etc.) until further notice. On average, 77 percent of wishes involve air travel. Make-A-Wish East Tennessee has postponed 11 wishes across its 36-county territory. Nationwide, 970 wishes were immediately impacted with 30 more wishes estimated to be postponed each day.

As a result, we have adapted organization messaging to address the current situation and will be launching a new national campaign, PSA, and press release on Friday that calls attention to the children waiting for their wishes to come true.

We will continue to monitor guidance from national and international public health and government organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and U.S. State Department, and are working closely with the national Make-A-Wish Medical Advisory Council, keeping the best interest of the children and families we serve at the center of all policy decisions we make.

As always, we remain committed to our vision of granting the wish of every eligible child fighting a critical illness. The world needs hope right now, and our mission is to create life-changing wishes that deliver hope to children with critical illnesses. Our mission has been interrupted and we need your support now more than ever.

We will continue to share the hope, the joy, and the power a wish can have for a child battling a critical illness on our external channels. Your help today will bring hope and joy to wish kids in East Tennessee tomorrow. To support wishes across East Tennessee, visit our website at etn.wish.org.