About Us
Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.
From our humble beginnings in 1980 with one boy’s wish to be a police officer, we’ve evolved into an organization that grants a child’s wish in the United States and its territories every 40 minutes.
Our Chapter
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area was founded in 1984. In its first year, a total of 27 wishes were granted. Now one of the largest chapters nationwide, we have granted 6,000 wishes to date and grant over 340 wishes per year. While we follow the policies and guidelines of Make-A-Wish® America, the Greater Bay Area chapter operates as a separate 501(c)3 organization. All funds raised by our chapter are used to fulfill our mission in the Bay Area.
The First Wish
Make-A-Wish® traces its beginning to one boy’s wish. In 1980, 7-year-old Christopher James Greicius was being treated for leukemia. Every day, he dreamed of becoming a police officer.
Thanks to the generosity of some caring individuals, Chris was sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history. Thus, the Chris Greicius Make-A-Wish® Memorial – which later became known as the Make-A-Wish Foundation – was born. Read more here…
Fast Facts
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area serves 17 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Marin, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Solano and Sonoma.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area serves children between the ages of 2½ - 18 who meet our guidelines without regard to race, gender, creed, socio-economic, or cultural background. The Foundation is committed to ensuring that it never has to decline a qualified wish referral nor limit the scope of a child’s imagination for his/her wish due to the lack of funds.
