Wish Visitor
Purpose:
To visit a wish child in their home and ascertain what their true wish is and why they would like it to be granted
Main Contacts:
- Wish children and their families
- Medical staff if making a visit in a hospital or hospice
- Other Make-A-Wish volunteers
Key Activities:
- Together with a second volunteer, make arrangements to visit the wish child within 7-10 days of receiving information on the wish family
- Encourage open discussions with the wish child (and family where appropriate, for example where the child is unable to communicate or understand) to discover the child’s true wish and the reasons for the wish
- Obtain one of each type of wish from the child (to go, to meet, to be and to own) in preferential order
- Recognise and sensitively discourage parental or sibling influence on the choice of wishes
- Ensure the parents of the wish child complete, have witnessed and return all relevant paperwork to you
- Type up the wish report within a day of the visit whilst details are fresh
- Submit the wish visit report together with the wish family’s paperwork within one week of the visit, ensuring that all relevant information is included
Skills:
- Good verbal communication with children, young people and parents
- Ability to cope with what may be distressing information and situations
- Excellent listening and report writing skills
- Ability to deal with the unexpected and remain calm and patient in difficult situations
- Own transport or ability to get to the location of the wish visit
- Access to an email account
Time Commitment:
A wish visit will normally last about an hour, not including travel time, and will need to be arranged to suit the availability of the wish child and family and the accompanying volunteer. Being flexible is important as, sometimes at the last minute, a wish visit may be cancelled or there is a need to change the appointment time or venue.
