Neil Jones discusses 2011 and what lies ahead in 2012

2011 was a great year for Make-A-Wish UK.

It was a year in which we overcame the many challenges in our way and set new records. We had a wonderful 25th Anniversary year, inscribed our name into the Guinness Book of World Records (for the world’s biggest Pass the Parcel) and granted our 7,000th wish.

And we're delighted now to be able to announce that we granted a record 898 wishes in 2011!

That represents an increase of 35% on 2010’s total and stands us in good stead as we prepare to eclipse even that achievement and push on towards our target of granting 1,000 wishes to UK children and young people in 2012.

In order to do this, we’ll need to raise a massive £6.8m during the year, and we will rely more than ever on the skills and goodwill of more than 650 volunteers to help with our wishes. We’ll also be introducing some exciting new initiatives to help us on our way to achieving these challenging and ambitious objectives; for example, keep an eye on this website for more news about our upcoming Go Gold challenge.

Granting wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions is our raison d’être – it’s all that we are here to do. 2011’s new record means that more children than ever before have experienced the wonder of a Make-A-Wish wish and more lives have been touched by their magic – and that means that we are fulfilling our purpose and helping families.

We can’t and won’t hit our targets without your help – but I believe that we will do it, and I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported, helped or gave to us in 2011. It's difficult to overstate the difference you have helped to make to the lives of so many seriously ill children and their families and I hope that inspires you to continue with whatever help you give us, whether as a donor, a fundraiser or a volunteer – or even all three at once!

And if you’re new to us or just beginning to find out about what we do, you can follow us on Facebook (search Make-A-Wish UK) and Twitter (@MakeAWishUK)