Make-A-Wish® Utilizes Innovative Wishmaker Platform to Grant More Wishes

PHOENIX, April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Make-A-Wish^® announced Wednesday, April 12, a new, cutting-edge fundraising approach to support their efforts to grant the wish of every eligible child. Wishmaker, developed in conjunction with CrowdRise, is an online, crowd-funding platform that rallies individuals nationwide to contribute toward granting a child's wish and to encourage their social media networks to do the same. During the month of April, Make-A-Wish has partnered with WWE^® to use Wishmaker to exclusively raise funds for WWE-related wishes.

Fundraising for the WWE wishes is currently underway and will culminate on World Wish Day, April 29, the day that inspired the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980 and an annual celebration of those who make wishes possible.

The collaboration between Make-A-Wish and WWE comes on the heels of WWE's premier event, and also the largest wish granting event of the year, WrestleMania^®. Make-A-Wish sent 39 wish kids and their families – more than 150 total participants – to Orlando, Fla., for their wish to attend WrestleMania.

"With Wishmaker, we are venturing into exciting, uncharted territory to involve members of the community in the wish granting process like never before," said David Williams, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. "Wish families who have had a WWE-related wish know firsthand the immeasurable confidence and strength the experience can give. In addition, we know through new, independent research that wishes have significant impacts on a child's quality of life resulting in better health outcomes. There has never been a more important time for the community to come together to make the wish experience possible for more wish kids."

"Putting a smile on a child's face is a honor and a privilege," said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer.  "We are excited about using Wishmaker to help bring the community together, enhance the wish experience, and raise funds to help further WWE's longstanding partnership with Make-A-Wish. These kids are heroes, they are the real Superstars, and every one of them deserves the chance to have their wish come true."  

Wishmaker represents a bold step for Make-A-Wish in the fundraising space. Make-A-Wish hopes to be able to grant 17,000 wishes a year by 2020 – nearly 2,000 wishes more than in 2016 – requiring significant increases in fundraising. To visit Wishmaker, go to wish.org/WWEWishmaker.

About Make-A-Wish^®
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. With the help of generous donors and more than 33,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 34 minutes.

About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company WWE, is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 20 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/

Tweet about Wishmaker: Join @MakeAWish & @WWE to help grant wishes for kids with critical illnesses by becoming a #WWEwishmaker: wish.org/WWEWishmaker.

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SOURCE Make-A-Wish Foundation of America