MAKE-A-WISH UK
Sarah
Watson , Make-A-Wish UK
happiness and positive memories for the whole family to cherish .
“ We ' ve got more than 43,000 volunteers around the world , and we ' ve granted over 520,000 wishes worldwide ,” says Sarah Watson , Director of Finance and Technology at Make-A-Wish UK .
Right now , more than 63,000 children in the UK are eligible for a wish because they have a life-limiting or life-threatening condition , and the charity is dedicated to supporting as many of these children as possible , but sadly , as Watson explains , “ the reality at the moment is that we can ' t reach all of the children that we need to ”.
Dedicated both to her role and the families Make-A-Wish UK supports , Watson and her team are sharply focused on how technology can enable the charity to deliver more wishes in an efficient and cost-effective way .
“ We are quite unique because , if every wish is as unique as the child that wishes for it , that ' s actually really quite hard for planning .
“ From a tech point of view , the key thing for us is to really think about that real-time information – we need to look at how we make sure that the minute that a child wishes , we have the technology and digital products in place that can really send that ‘ beacon ’ out into the community to attract the resources needed to grant it , because as soon as that ' s in place , we can do that ,” notes Watson .
“ This is why things like gifts-in-kind are really important to us because , as a registered charity , when we commit to grant a child ’ s wish , we ’ re
126 October 2022