Wish Upon a Hero is a social helping network in the United States that connects those in need with people who are willing to help.Pay It Forward: Granting Wishes to Strangers - ABC News
/ref>

History and organization background

Wish Upon A Hero was conceived by Dave Girgenti shortly after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

as a means to connect people in need after major disasters. After witnessing the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, Girgenti worked to develop the Wish Upon a Hero web community. The website launched in September 2007. The social networking website is free and designed to help anyone in need. The website works by connecting wishers with wish grantors; people can post up to three wishes at a time to the website; grantors can grant whatever wishes they choose. These wishes can range from relatively small to large, such as words of encouragement or financial assistance.YouTube - CNN Nicole Lapin
/ref> To date, more than 100,000 wishes have been granted through the site.Wishful Thinking - SouthJerseyMagazine.com
/ref>

Wish Upon a Hero Foundation

The Wish Upon A Hero Foundation is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization that supports the wish granting efforts of individuals and organizations. Established in June 2008 as a mechanism to raise money for larger wishes that were not being granted on the Wish Upon a Hero website, the Foundation accepts corporate donations and is eligible to receive government grants. In 2011, the Wish Upon a Hero Foundation sponsored Iraq War veteran in the "Hike for our Heroes" as he hiked across the U.S. to raise money for military families in need.Hike Through Dacula Honors Local Soldier - Dacula, GA Patch
/ref>

Foundation programs

=Divine 9 golf fundraiser

= The Divine 9 golf fundraiser is an annual celebrity pro-am golf championship benefiting people and families with blood cancer. Since 2004, Divine 9 has raised more than $1 million toward leukemia and lymphoma research. At the 2010 event, Divine 9 granted a 'wedding' wish to a leukemia patient who posted her wish for a dream wedding on the Wish Upon A Hero website.'Wish Upon a Hero' or Be One Yourself - myfoxphilly.com
/ref>

References

External links

Wish Upon A HeroWish Upon A Hero Foundation
American social networking websites {{Improve categories, date=January 2024