2002
click to skip facts
20 Years of
Hopes And Wishes
Scroll for more
Make-A-Wish Singapore officially opened its doors!
Our first office was located at Singapore Shopping Centre with 2 staff and 6 board members.
The first year was focused on building a solid foundation both financially and operationally. We hired staff and trained volunteers in order to deliver the highest quality of wishes possible to our wish children!
This wish was granted by our founder, Dr Keith Goh and Board Member, Mr Richard Yong. They even invited Dick Lee to present the piano to the wish child!
Granted our first wish in 2003!
Make a guess! What was the first wish?
I wish to have a piano
I wish to go to Disneyland
I wish to be a pilot
I wish to have a computer
First volunteer appreciation party in June 2003!
We started with 20 volunteer wish granters and since then, we have grown in strength to 165 active wish granters who make all the wishes come true!
Launched our first Charity Golf in October 2003!
136 golfers joined us at Sentosa Golf Club where former President SR Nathan and Mrs Nathan graced the event. To date, we have tee-ed off 17 successful Charity Golfs that raised an average of $300,000 each year.
First party for wish children and families in December 2003!
It was the first time our wish children came together to have fun and meet each other in person. Special thanks to our partner, SAP Singapore, who has been sponsoring gifts for our wish children at our year-end parties for the past 15 years!
The wish brought tremendous joy and strength to the child's family and friends when they saw the child break out of her usual shyness and danced with the Powerpuff Girls.
Granted our first To-Meet wish in December 2003!
Make a guess! Who did the wish child want to meet?
Spiderman
Mickey Mouse
Powerpuff Girls
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Started Adopt-A-Wish programme in 2004!
Adopt-A-Wish provides a unique opportunity for donors to make an immediate, direct and substantial impact on the life of a child. To date, more than 400 corporates and donors have supported our programme!
Granted our first Disney wish in March 2005!
We've worked with Disney for more than 15 years to bring hope and magical moments to children and their families when they need it most!
Met our first frog lover in August 2006!
Theresa's unique wish was to have an aquarium of frogs. After she got her wish granted, Theresa went on to study veterinary science. She is now a vet and still the biggest frog-lover!
Granted our first motorised wheelchair wish in March 2007!
Mobility wishes (e.g. wheelchair, buggy...etc.) make up 25% of our wishes, making it one of our most popular wishes. Having the ability to move around freely improves the quality of life substantially for our wish kids.
Inaugural Make-A-Wish Gala Dinner in October 2008!
This was the first time we auctioned wish children's paintings to raise funds. Over the years, such works of art have been well-loved and eagerly supported during our fund raising campaigns.
Participated in YMCA Youth For Causes for the first time in 2009!
Together with youths from various schools who are committed to do good, our first YFC programme raised more than $20,000! We have since been participating in this programme yearly. Huge thanks to all the amazing youths raising funds for Make-A-Wish Singapore!
Started our first-ever Flag Day in March 2010!
Remember the days when we collected donations with a tin? We started our first flag day in 2010 and raised more than $90,000! From secondary school students to coporate partners, the event was one of the largest volunteer operations with over 1,000 individuals!
Granted our first LEGO wish in May 2010!
Many of our wish kids love LEGO because it sparks joy and is a great distraction from hours of medical treatment.
The LEGO Group has been one of our key partners since 2010, inspiring many of our wish kids through play and endless creative possibilities.
First fundraising art exhibition in November 2011!
7-year-old Gelyn held her first solo art exhibition, titled "My
Dreams, My Wishes", with an impressive showcase of 29 paintings featuring nature and animals. Her exhibition raised more than $100,000.
Gelyn chose Make-A-Wish Singapore as the beneficiairy to help critically ill children live out their dreams and wishes with the funds raised.
Moved into our current office at The Adelphi in August 2014!
With our current staff strength of 9 people and 7 board members, we are the only wish granting organisation of its kind in Singapore!
Singapore's first Santa Run for Wishes in December 2014!
More than 5,000 participants joined us as we transformed the Marina Bay area into the biggest Christmas run in 2014! To this day, Santa Run for Wishes remains one of the all-time favourite signature events, attracting more than 24,000 runners over the years.
Genie from Disney's Aladdin became a wish granter in May 2015!
You can be a "genie" too by referring children to us so that we can help fulfil their wishes.
15-year-old Lauren was a huge Liverpool Football Club fan. She spent many precious moments with her family watching and supporting their matches. In her own words, this "sense of togetherness" has pull her through tough times!
The first flight on SIA Krisflyer partnership took off in 2016!
Make a guess! Which city did the wish child go?
New York
London
Manchester
Tokyo
Our first Disney Avengers Academy in May 2018!
37 wish children were sworn in as Little Avengers by Iron Man cast member, Robert Downey Jr.
We grant celebrity wishes to our wish children too!
One celebrity wish we granted in February 2019 was to meet Eminem. Eminem’s music was a source of strength for him and it was a once in a life-time experience to meet his idol. This wish experience brought him joy and courage for our wish child to continue fighting his illness.
Santa Run for Wishes went virtual in December 2020!
You can now run virtually from wherever you are! The family-friendly run turned virtual in 2020. We also partnered with SAP to bring the year-end celebration to our wish families' homes with the Santa on Wheels initiative, delivering toys and joy to our wish children.
Join us again for a new edition of Santa Run for Wishes this year end!
Launched limited edition masks designed by wish children in April 2021!
Three wish children specially designed these masks to share a message of hope to everyone around them. Each mask supports us in granting more impactful wishes.
Granted our 1,700th wish in December 2021!
As a cancer survivor and online gaming enthusiast, Jovan's wish raised $4,721 for other wish children and cancer patients like him.
In our 20th year, join us as we embark on the road to 2,000 wishes.
