Once a month, my colleague and I dedicate a portion of our day to bundling up gift packages which are then shipped to our participating HERO OF THE MONTH facilities. Today was one of “those days” and we managed to keep very busy thanks to the many facilities that sent in their HERO nominations this month. For us, it’s worth all the folding, stuffing, sorting and taping (and paper cuts!) because it means that ONE HUNDRED children will receive their t-shirt, certificate, medal and gift card within the next 24-48 hours. Happy Shopping to all our little HEROES – it’s been our honor to award you with this well-deserved token!

~Susan
HOTM Facility Coordinator

A wonderful email was waiting in my ‘in box’ when I booted my computer up this morning. My Supervisor had informed the team that my colleague and I had received one hundred HERO OF THE MONTH Nominations for the month of October, surpassing last month’s total of 93. For us, it’s more than just a numbers game. Sure, everyone likes to break records and surpass quotas, but receiving – and fulfilling – these nominations means that 100 brave children will have the opportunity to be recognized and honored for overcoming difficult personal and/or physical obstacles in their young lives.

Our hopes are that these HOTM gift packages – which includes a personalized certificate, medal, t-shirt and gift card, will distract them – even for a brief period of time – and show them that they are special, unique, strong and heroic despite their illness(es) or circumstance(s).

A special thanks to all the facilities that participated and help us reach this milestone. We’ve said it before and we’ll keep repeating ourselves… we couldn’t do this without you! You are more than a liaison between us and the children – you are the lifeline that keeps the HOTM Program ticking. We realize there are times when you get sidetracked, but please know that it is always appreciated when you take the time to submit your paperwork so we can do our part. It is truly an honor to work our facilities’ counterparts each & every month in making wishes come true!

If you are interested in participating in the HERO OF THE MONTH Program and/or have any questions, please call 888.918.9004.

Susan
HOTM Facility Coordinator

Today I received a short, but sweet email from one of our families regarding their daughter receiving the Hero of the Month award:

“My name is Berta and I am the proud parent of Lauren. Lauren was chosen as HERO of the MONTH … in September. I would like to personally thank the Kids Wish Network because she was so excited when she received the gift card and the t-shirt. This child has been through so much in her 7 years of living but expresses her gratitude for even the smaller things.

Again, thank you from the Foster family. Your organization has made a small child smile again after such a major surgery.”

It’s responses like these that makes the long days worth while! Good job KWN!!

Margo
HOTM Facility Coordinator

I’ve spent my entire career in sports & entertainment marketing. My daily responsibilities would touch upon areas such as: advertising, branding, writing, special events, and promotions. Selling was never my “thing”; I’ve never been assertive/aggressive in that sense. My thoughts… If you don’t want it, no worries – don’t buy it!

Needless to say, I was nervous when I started at KWN and was informed that one of my duties was to contact children’s/pediatric facilities nationwide in an effort to have them join our HERO OF THE MONTH program. (“Do I have to actually pitch these people? Do I have to maintain a quota each month? What if they reject me???”)

After eavesdropping on my colleague – who seamlessly & smoothly delivers the parameters of the program to her respective contacts like a pro each and every time – I began reaching out to hospitals, rehabilitation centers, burn units and shelters to inform them of HOTM. There are days when I simply have to “step away from the phone”, tired of hearing the sound of my own voice, but when I do manage to get a facility representative on the phone, it is with great pleasure that I get to introduce them to the rewards of HOTM. I’ve had a few facilities sign with us since I’ve started (Welcome!) and have many others who have expressed interest. In communicating with these people who dedicate their lives to children in need, I no longer look at these phone calls as “selling”, but “sharing” because that is exactly what we are doing! There is never a cost to the facility to participate, so it’s a win-win situation for all involved!

If you would like to honor some brave children that walk through your doors every month, please call us at 888.918.9004 so you can join our roster of esteemed facilities who participate in KIDS WISH NETWORK’s HERO OF THE MONTH Program!

Susan
HOTM Facility Coordinator

All of the surveys for wishes granted, heroes recognized and gift banks delivered come through me. As I was going through a small stack today, I realized that there were some words that were constantly repeated in surveys from people and facilities all around the country, so I decided to post a few for you all to see. See?

Just reading these words will give you a feeling for the sorts of emotions and thoughts our programs cause all around the U.S. I think it’s just great to know.

~Alicia
Editorial Department

Kids Wish Network, in my opinion, has one of the most amazing “reward” programs out there! While we do normal wish granting for those children with life threatening illnesses, we realized there was a void for those kids who don’t suffer from a life threatening illness but are still going through a rough time, in and out of the hospital.

Enter the Hero of the Month Program!

Jakob is Our Hero

This AMAZING program recognizes those children who are going through really hard or traumatic experiences – car accidents, chronic conditions, abuse situations, etc… One a facility, be it a children’s hospital, child advocacy center or homeless shelter, joins our program, they are able to recognize one child a month who they believe is a Hero. This is a child who has overcome such amazing odds and is going through a rough time and need something, anything really, to put a smile on their face.

The Hero will be recognized by the facility and Kids Wish Network as a Hero of the Month and will receive a Hero packet that consists of a t-shirt, a medal and a certificate. The really awesome part is they also get a gift card to either Wal-Mart or Target that ranges in value from $200-500, depending on the Hero’s age!!! This is money for them to use to buy whatever they wish for!

This is a really awesome program that has made such a difference in the lives of many children. We currently have 128 facilities all across the United States participating and we would LOVE to have you join us! If you feel this program would be a great fit for your facility and would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Be part of this life changing program and help us recognize those kids who have been through so much, those kids who can only be called “Heroes”!

Margo
Wish Department

So we just finished putting together the packets for September’s Hero of the Month nominees. They are ready to be shipped out!!! It’s a lot a work but it’s totally worth it once we realize how the child will feel when they open their packet and see all the really cool stuff they got. Not to mention a gift card!!!

Nominations for next month have already started coming in and we have some really great stories so far! HUGE thanks to all the hospitals that send us those kids who are so deserving of an award like this. It makes our day a little brighter when we realize how much we are helping those out there.

Keep on keeping on KWN!!!

Smiles, Margo

Every month we really enjoy seeing the pictures of our hero kids as they receive their packages, the looks on their faces are priceless and makes our job very rewarding! I want to say thank you to the facilities who participate in our hero of the month program, it is such a pleasure working with you all.

Deanna (Hero of the Month – Wish Department)