MAKE-A-WISH^® NEW JERSEY CELEBRATES $5 MILLION MILESTONE WITH WHEELS FOR WISHES CAR DONATION FOUNDATION

Over $100 Million Raised Nationwide Since 2010

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – Make-A-Wish^® and the Car Donation Foundation recently announced a significant fundraising milestone of $100 million raised nationwide through the Wheels for Wishes program. Surpassing the $100 million mark is an achievement that only a few sponsors and supporters have reached since the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980. Make-A-Wish New Jersey has directly received over $5 million of the national funds raised over the past thirteen years, helping to grant life-changing wishes for hundreds of children with critical illnesses throughout the Garden State.

Since its start in 2010, the Car Donation Foundation has received thousands of donated cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, RVs and even boats, which are then auctioned to new owners or recycled. The proceeds benefit the local Make-A-Wish chapter where the car donation is made, funding life-changing wishes and restoring hope in families’ lives at a time when hope is needed most.

Recently, Wheels for Wishes Executive Director Loren Dorshow visited the New Jersey team at their headquarters in Monroe Township, the Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place. Mr. Dorshow and his organization were celebrated with an afternoon of gratitude that included a tour of the magical and whimsical wish-granting castle that has played a monumental role in the impact of the Make-A-Wish mission in New Jersey, followed by an inspiring program with wish families from over the years that gathered to share their stories and thank Mr. Dorshow and the Wheels for Wishes program for their dedicated support and partnership.

“We are grateful for the support of long-standing partners like our friends at Wheels for Wishes Car Donation Foundation,” shared Tom Weatherall, President & CEO of Make-A-Wish New Jersey. “Since 2010, over $5 million of their $100 million raised nationwide through their program has been contributed to our chapter right here in New Jersey. These vital funds have helped us to reach hundreds of wish children and their families. We rely on the benevolence of the community, to give us the confidence each year to go out and find more eligible children and ask them that magical question that brings our mission to life – ‘if you could have one wish, what would it be?’. With support from friends like Loren Dorshow and the Wheels for Wishes program, no matter what that child’s answer may be, we are able to tell them that their wish will be granted.”

“Hearing these inspiring wish stories in a wish-granting castle serves as a reminder for why we wake up and work to support the amazing mission of Make-A-Wish New Jersey,” Car Donation Foundation executive director, Loren Dorshow, said. “Wish kids and their families are an inspiration to us all, and we are proud to benefit them through our Wheels For Wishes car donation program.”

“It’s amazing to see New Jersey come together with generosity to strengthen the community with an impactful charity like Make-A-Wish,” Randy Heiligman, co-founder of National Fundraising Management, said.

The process to make a tax-deductible donation through the Wheels for Wishes program is simple. People with a vehicle they'd like to donate can fill out a simple form on the Wheels for Wishes website at wheelsforwishes.org/newjersey. They will then be contacted within 24 hours to coordinate a pickup using cost-free towing.

The wishes that Wheels for Wishes helps to grant can play an important part in the healing process for children with critical illnesses. Wishes can mark a turning point in a child's treatment and restore hope, strength and joy in their lives.