7th Annual Macy's Believe Campaign Benefiting Make-A-Wish Begins
Friday, Nov. 7, marks the beginning of the 7th annual Macy’s Believe campaign, based on the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial. The Macy’s Believe campaign invites believers of all ages to write letters to Santa and drop them off at Santa Mail letterboxes in Macy’s stores nationwide or send them online at macys.com/believe between Friday, Nov. 7, and Wednesday, Dec. 24.
For each letter written to Santa, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1,000,000. Since the inception of the Believe campaign seven years ago, Macy’s has donated more than $8.7 million dollars to Make-A-Wish through the holiday campaign. The campaign’s success has helped Make-A-Wish grant more and better wishes for wish kids nationwide – wishes like 8-year-old Aaron’s.
Aaron is known in his Arizona neighborhood for sharing Christmas spirit with his special red and green handmade decorations and bringing joy to others. He feels a particular type of happiness when he decorates for the holidays.
In 2013, Aaron had his wish granted to go to New York to decorate the Macy’s windows. When he arrived at the Macy’s in New York City, a Christmas-lover’s dream awaited: piles of glitter-adorned ornaments, ribbons, wreaths, and presents to be placed in the windows and on the giant tree. Looking at all the colorful decorations of all shapes and sizes, Aaron’s medical treatments for leukemia were the farthest thing from his mind. He immediately began decorating, and his finished product was admired and photographed by shoppers.
“It felt awesome to get to decorate and see all the work Macy’s decorators do for Christmas,” Aaron said. “And I liked keeping it a secret until opening night too. I told them we better do a pinky swear so I won’t tell anyone [what the window looked like].”
Each letter written to Santa as part of the Macy’s Believe campaign will help make more wish stories, like Aaron’s, a reality. Write or email your letter to Santa and help make wishes come true.
ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true has positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Headquartered in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world's leading children's charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted more than 254,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; more than 14,000 in 2013 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at www.wish.org to learn more.
