Order a dish, grant a sick child's dish

Who says giving to charity must involve signing a huge cheque or collecting newspapers from around an HDB estate? In the case of the Make-A-Wish Foundation®Singapore's Wish Dish campaign, charity can be done just by dining at one of the 30-odd participating restaurants in town.

For the current month, at least half of what you pay for selected dishes at these restaurants will go towards granting a child's wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation®Singapore. That means you contribute, say, $19++ for every $38++ bowl of stewed lobster noodle at Shang Palace in Shangri-La Hotel.

This is the second year that Make-A-Wish Foundation®Singapore is conducting this campaign, after exceeding its target last year when it raised more than $100,000 from 6,000 dishes. This year, its aim is to sell at least 10,000 "wish dishes".

According to Make-A-Wish Foundation®Singapore's recently appointed chairman Keith Goh, the idea for Wish Dish came from Make-A-Wish Foundation®Peru, which started a similar fund-raising campaign revolving around food. And since there is also a strong food culture here in Singapore, they felt that it would be an appropriate avenue to raise funds.

Every year, Make-A-Wish Foundation®Singapore grants between 100 and 130 wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. These kids, aged three to 18, can basically wish for anything from a meeting with a celebrity such as Jackie Chan, to a laptop computer, or even a visit to Disneyland.

"The idea of a wish gives them a lot of hope, takes their mind off their illness, and makes them look ahead towards the wish that is to come. It's not a last wish, but a very positive, uplifting experience that can be very good for the child and the family," says Dr Goh.
 

Visit www.facebook.com/MakeAWishFoundation

Singapore or email info@makeawish.org.sg for a full list of participating restaurants and selected 'wish dishes'

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