The Make a Wish Foundation
 

The Make a Wish Foundation grants wishes for terminally ill children. In 2006 it took in $182 million in donations. That doesn't count the time contributed by 25,000 volunteers, or donated time from celebrities and sport stars.

I find it incredibly repulsive. It seems like such a throwaway charity, people give money to it when they don't actually want to help anyone. That money could be going to educate inner city kids, cure diseases so those kids weren't terminally ill in the first place, or how about the "Make a Bridge Foundation". Instead they throw parties for kids who are going to die anyway. They're not making any kind of lasting difference in anyone's life, so far as I can tell.

My GF thinks I'm a heartless bastard, what does OOT think?

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

My heart tells me you are a piece of [censored], douche bag, that should be punched in the nards repeatedly.


My head tells me you are right.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

I agree with your GF.

You're talking about giving dying kids one last chance to realize their dreams, or at least something special and meaningful to them.

Deciding which charity to donate to is a tough decision. Personally, I'd much rather donate to the Make-A-Wish than to something like AIDS research. AIDS is a fully preventable disease. Many of these kids have terminal forms of cancer that they didn't contract by sharing needles or engaging in unprotected sex.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

[ QUOTE ]
My GF thinks I'm a heartless bastard, what does OOT think?

[/ QUOTE ]

Your girlfriend is a smart woman. You sir are a douchebag. Make a Wish gives a dying kid a chance to do what they have been dreaming of doing in their short time on earth. Sure, that $125 million could go to cancer research or educate inner-city kids, but how does that help the little bloke who's about to die?

Besides, who's to say that the people who make the donation to make-a-wish would actually donate that money to a cause you see fit? They may just keep the money instead.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

cbloom,

Of all the things to complain about, of all the things our government and society spend money on, of all the out-of-whack priorities we have, you choose to be incredibly repulsed by The Make a Wish Foundation. That makes a whole ton of sense.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

The way Im looking at things, is that if the money was spent to help cure the diseases, rather than sending kids with teh diseases to disney land, it would better for everyone in teh long run.



but I hate thinking that way because those kids have it rough.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

[ QUOTE ]
The way Im looking at things, is that if the money was spent to help cure the diseases, rather than sending kids with teh diseases to disney land, it would better for everyone in teh long run.



but I hate thinking that way because those kids have it rough.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. But that's kind of a black-and-white wordview, no? I mean, do we just say "[censored] those dying kids and let's concentrate on the ones that aren't dying yet"?

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The way Im looking at things, is that if the money was spent to help cure the diseases, rather than sending kids with teh diseases to disney land, it would better for everyone in teh long run.



but I hate thinking that way because those kids have it rough.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. But that's kind of a black-and-white wordview, no? I mean, do we just say "[censored] those dying kids and let's concentrate on the ones that aren't dying yet"?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya, basically, but one of the biggest problems I know I have is viewing things in black and white.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

My company does media management for this organisation, so I have to read/write about it every other day.

To a terminally ill 4 year old, a visit to meet Mickey at Disneyland is far more life enriching than the hope that there might be a cure for cancer in 50 years' time.

Isn't your stance the same as saying "why not shut down state-financed hospices" - does quality of life become worthless once you're diagnosed with a terminal illness?

At a meta level, I understand where you're coming from, but don't think a little bit of kindness towards dying kids is money wasted.

Re: The Make a Wish Foundation
 

Hey moran, the people who give their money to Make-A-Wish understand how it will be used. Why shouldn't a kid dying of cancer get a trip to Disney World? His parents have most likely spent much of their life savings paying for the child's medical care and probably can't afford a trip to Disney World.

I have a lot of admiration for athletes and famous people who volunteer to spend a day with these kids (and I mean a full day, not a 15 minute meet and greet.) It has to be quite humbling to realize that in this kid's world you are one of the main sources of hope for this kid as he/she lives a short, tough life.

For your next foolish rant, I suggest you discuss the merit of euthanizing all the poor as the easiest way to eliminate poverty.