One year, 358 wishes: Senior Wish Granter Clodagh Kiely explains how it was done

In our new Impact Report, we shared the news that our Wish Granters ended 2023 having delivered a whopping 358 wishes for seriously ill children in the UK.

We asked Rays of Sunshine Senior Wish Granter Clodagh Kiely to take us behind-the-scenes and tell us how the team were able to pull off such an amazing feat:

On one her favourite wishes of 2023…

“I worked on so many special wishes last year, but one that stands out was George’s wish to attend the Ant-Man and the Wasp film premiere in London. George is a huge superhero fan, and has spent a lot of his time in hospital losing himself in comics and Marvel movies.

“We worked with Disney to get George and his family a spot on the red carpet, and he got the chance to meet stars like Paul Rudd before settling in for a VIP showing of the film.

“It was such a unique wish, and George was so happy with how it all came out. Given that superheroes have been such a great form of escapism for him in the past, it felt like we were able to achieve something really special.”

Why supporting fellow wish granters’ work is so important…

“All of the wishes I worked on in 2023 were in some way supported by our wider wish-granting team. We’re a close-knit group, and granting wishes is very much a team sport!

“Whether that means helping a fellow wish granter to wrap up a bundle of gaming goodies for a wish child, or sharing a useful contact in our weekly “Making Magic” wish team meetings, we support each other in any way we can.

“Sometimes, it even means packing up the yellow suitcases with balloons and gifts and catching a train to the other side of the country. As a team, we travelled all over the UK to help each other grant wishes in 2023 – from Edinburgh to Liverpool, Brighton to Birmingham and so many more.”

Ensuring joy is a part of the working day…

“There is a lot of joy to be found in the Rays of Sunshine office on any given day. But it doesn’t happen by accident! As part of our charity’s social committee (aptly named the Social Butterflies), I try to ensure the whole team has regular opportunities to step back from their work and refill their magic making reserves.

“This could be special occasions like pot-luck events for Halloween or Easter, to organising an old-school sports day for our summer social. But it also often looks simpler, like all of us taking the time to have lunch with each other at a big table in our office.

“Given that our job is so focused on creating joy, and that it is one of our charity’s core values, it’s really important to us all that we incorporate that into our everyday work life where possible.”

Reflecting on 2023…

“2023 was a huge year for Rays of Sunshine and that is reflected in the 358 wishes we were able to deliver.

“Like so many charities, it has been hard to navigate through the cost-of-living crisis – and its undeniable that rising costs has impacted how we are able to grant wishes. But even with these pressures, we were able to make a lot of magic happen.

“On behalf of our Wish Granters and wider team, thank you so much to all our supporters! 2024 promises to be another amazing year!”

To find out how you could support Rays of Sunshine in 2024 go to: https://raysofsunshine.org.uk/support-us/

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