Chain Letters
Make-A-Wish receives hundreds of inquiries regarding chain letters claiming to be associated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. These requests are not legitimate. As a matter of policy, the Make-A-Wish Foundation does not conduct wishes of any kind that involve chain letters or any other types of direct solicitation, including Internet and e-mail requests.
If you receive a chain letter or e-mail claiming to be associated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, please direct the sender and all recipients to the chain letter section of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America Web site. The time spent responding to these requests distracts the Foundation from its efforts to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. In some situations, chain letters spread information that is potentially harmful to a child and his or her family.
Here are the chain letters claiming to be associated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation that are currently circulating around the world:
- An Internet-based chain letter claiming that a seven-year-old girl named Amy Bruce will receive seven cents from the Make-A-Wish Foundation each time her letter is forwarded is not a legitimate request. The Foundation has contacted the originator's Internet service provider to pursue the matter.
- A chain letter that has been circulating for more than 10 years states that a boy named Craig Shergold (or Shepherd) wanted to be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most greeting cards. Craig's wish was fulfilled in 1990 by another wish-granting organization not associated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Guinness retired Craig's category after he received more than 16 million greeting cards. Craig is now a healthy college student and has requested an end to the mail.
- In addition to the Amy Bruce and Craig Shergold chain letters, a chain letter for a boy named Ryan McGhee is also not legitimate and falsely associated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.