Wishing Well Foundation

The Wishing Well Foundation is an organization based in Naples, Florida, that grants wishes to terminally ill children that live in Collier County or Lee County, Florida.

The foundation helps make sick children smile.

Some wishes the foundation has fulfilled include:

• Giving a child a season pass to Disney World
• Sending a child to a Backstreet Boys concert
• Giving a child the opportunity to swim with dolphins
• Taking a child to Washington, D.C., to meet President Bush

A group of community volunteers started the foundation in 1994 in a response to similar organizations, such as Make a Wish, which have a national scope. The volunteers wanted a way to keep wish-granting dollars raised by local residents benefiting children in the immediate area instead of throwing them into a national pot.

Wishing Well prides itself on being different because of its continuous contact with the children it helps after their wishes are granted. This contact isn’t limited to phone calls. It also includes sending surprise cards and gifts and inviting the children and their families to special events. The foundation also tries to get families press if they need help raising funds to pay medical bills.

In addition to living in the local area, there are a few other criteria children have to meet to have their wished granted by Wishing Well.

• They must be between the ages of 3 and 18.
• They have to have a terminal illness that limits the likelihood the will live past 18.
• They must be referred by their legal guardians, a doctor, a nurse or a social worker.

People who know eligible children but do are not able to refer them, should contact someone that is able. There are no exceptions.

The foundation relies on volunteers to help them continue the mission of helping kids. It invites people to help by considering one or more of the following options:

• Contributing money directly to the foundation
• Sponsoring a specific child or wish or serving as an “honorary godparent”
• Becoming a wish grantor or helping with logistics of a wish
• Donating material goods, such as stamps, computer equipment and gift cards
• Spreading the word by inviting a representative to speak at a community meeting
• Adding the foundation to a personal estate plan

The organization also holds fundraising events. Recent ones have included a fashion show, a golf tourney and a sunset cruise. Attending these also benefits the foundation. All contributions are tax-deductible since the foundation is a registered 501c(3) nonprofit. Corporations are welcome to donate.

In an effort to get kids involved with helping other kids, the foundation started a club just for students. For more information on this club, interested individuals can call the 239-213-0397 and ask for Vicki.

The foundation’s address is 5051 Castello Drive; Suite 1; Naples, FL 34103. It is not open to the public, but visits can be arranged by appointment. It also has an email address, which is info@wishingwellfoundation.com, but the best form of contact is by phone at 239-214-0397. Additional information is available on the foundation’s website.

Since the foundation has a fairly common name it is easily confused with the Louisiana-based Wishing Well Foundation USA, Inc., which is a similar organization. This makes it very important for people to insure they are contacting, or donating to, the correct place. Another problem that comes up from time to time due to the name is that identity thieves send out solicitation letters that can fool legitimate donors. For example a thief sent a letter purporting to be from the International Wishing Well Foundation. This means donors really need to double check.

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