Miley Cyrus, Jeff Gordon, Nigel Barker Highlight Global Wish Celebration

PHOENIX (April 22, 2010) – The Make-A-Wish Foundation will mark the first-ever World Wish Day on April 29 with wish-granting celebrations throughout the United States and in 35 other countries in which it operates.

April 29 is the 30th anniversary of the wish that inspired the creation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A young leukemia patient named Chris was granted his wish to be a police officer in Phoenix that day. World Wish Day celebrates the day that sparked a global wish-granting movement and has enabled more than 240,000 children around the world to have their fondest wishes fulfilled by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The wishes celebrating World Wish Day are as varied as the nearly 20,000 wishes that the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants to children with life-threatening medical conditions around the world each year – including wishes to meet high-profile celebrities to wishes for electronics, a puppy, to be a veterinarian for a day or to go to the most popular wish destination for Make-A-Wish® kids, Walt Disney World® Resort.

Notable World Wish Day activities include:

• In Los Angeles, singer and actress Miley Cyrus will headline a monumental World Wish Day celebration on April 28 at The Grove. The star of box-office hit The Last Song and Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana is granting the wishes of 30 children from across the globe who wish to meet her.
• Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, one of the most-requested celebrity wish granters in the Foundation’s history, is supporting World Wish Day by granting a 9-year-old Oregon boy’s wish to meet him on April 24, before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega, Ala.
• Renowned fashion photographer Nigel Barker is capturing the inspiring beauty of two Texas teens, Sarah (18) and Megan (17), who wish to be fashion models. The girls will enjoy exclusive photo sessions and a luxurious modeling experience from Barker and his staff in New York City on April 29. Barker has volunteered to photograph numerous children with life-threatening medical conditions who wished to be models and appeared in past PSA campaigns for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
• A 10-year-old girl from Minnesota, Catrina, will receive her wish, a golden retriever puppy, and a full day of activities on April 22 thanks to a group of volunteers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Betty Crocker. Catrina and the volunteers will paint a doghouse, go on a scavenger hunt to find goodies for her new pet and enjoy a special lunch to celebrate the puppy’s arrival.
• Disney Store is supporting World Wish Day by offering a specially designed World Wish Day canvas tote available in stores and at DisneyStore.com through May 2. Disney Store will donate $3 from the sale of each tote to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Disney Store will also host in-store celebrations and help grant a shopping spree for two wish kids at a store in the United States and Europe in recognition of World Wish Day.
• Courtesy of Thomson Reuters, a list of the wishes granted around the world to celebrate World Wish Day will be featured on a digital billboard in New York City’s Times Square on April 29.
• Internationally, all Make-A-Wish affiliates around the world will grant at least one wish and are enhancing the celebration with a variety of activities. The Make-A-Wish affiliate in Brazil will grant 30 wishes to commemorate the Foundation’s 30th anniversary. New Make-A-Wish affiliates in Malaysia and Thailand will introduce themselves by granting their first official wishes on World Wish Day.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Wishes granted by the Foundation typically fall into one of four categories: To Be (e.g., a ballerina, a firefighter), To Meet (e.g., a favorite celebrity or athlete), To Have (e.g., a computer, a playhouse), or To Go (e.g., to a theme park, to Hawaii). In 2009, the Foundation granted nearly 20,000 wishes – more than 13,000 to children in the United States and almost 7,000 to children outside of the United States and its territories.

You can share the power of a wish® on World Wish Day – refer your child, make a donation, spread the word, give your unused frequent flier miles, help the Make-A-Wish Foundation bridge the gap. Learn how at wish.org.

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation: The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Founded in 1980 when a group of caring volunteers helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world. With the help of generous donors and more than 30,000 volunteers worldwide, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 240,000 wishes around the world since its inception. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America is partnering with Make-A-Wish Foundation International for World Wish Day. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.

Quotable…

Miley Cyrus: “I’m so excited to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrate World Wish Day and give these thirty brave kids an incredible wish experience I hope they’ll never forget. It’s a privilege for me to make their wishes come true and get my good on in such a heartfelt way.”

Jeff Gordon: “World Wish Day is a terrific way to celebrate the wishes that have been granted over the past 30 years and those that are still to come. I’m glad to contribute to the celebration by granting a wish – these courageous kids continue to inspire me every day. It’s heartwarming to see them enjoy their wish when they are enduring a difficult time in their lives.”

Nigel Barker: “I’m constantly amazed by the courage of the wish kids who I have the privilege of photographing and helping to realize their fondest wish. The hope and strength they convey are an inspiration to all of us who are a part of their wishes. I’m honored to grant Sarah and Megan’s wishes and join in the global celebration for World Wish Day.”

David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and CEO: “Last year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted nearly 20,000 wishes around the world – more than ever before – but that means many more children are eligible for a wish and haven’t yet received one. We are celebrating the inception of our organization on World Wish Day to encourage people to help us reach those children whose wishes now go unfulfilled."