(BPT) - For many children being treated for a critical illness, their most cherished wish is to visit someplace special, such as an extraordinary place they've never seen before, but always imagined. At Make-A-Wish^®, over 75% of the children's wishes involve travel, and airfare costs are the greatest expense for travel wishes. That's why the support that Make-A-Wish receives from their national corporate partner, United Airlines, has been so meaningful for nearly 40 years of partnership, which they will celebrate next year.

Since 1986, United Airlines has helped grant life-changing wish experiences that help wish kids and their families replace fear with confidence, sadness with joy - and anxiety with hope.

A big trip to the Big Apple

Experiencing New York City during the holiday season was the wish of 14-year-old Zoe, who is being treated for leukemia. Zoe and her mother had a travel itinerary packed full of iconic holiday events and enough memories to last a lifetime.

"We had a magical trip! The highlights were seeing the Rockettes, watching the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center and going ice skating in Rockefeller Center, which all made it a magical Christmas experience," said Zoe's mom, Lisa.

But there was much more for Zoe and her mom to enjoy. "We took a cake decorating class at one of our favorite bakeries, walked Fifth Avenue to see the windows, ate and shopped our way through Chelsea Market, Soho, the West Village, Little Italy and Chinatown, as well as just about every Christmas market the city had to offer," Lisa added.

But despite all these planned activities, some of the unplanned moments were the most memorable.

"The rain held off until our last day," explained Lisa. "While we were hiding out from the rain, we discovered our favorite hot chocolate of the trip (and we tried a LOT) in a little cafe in the West Village."

Overall, Zoe and her mother had a welcome break from her medical appointments during this special trip.

"Everything about the experience, from the planning and the wish reveal to the trip itself, was amazing," Zoe's mom said. "Zoe had been looking forward to this trip for so long and it definitely exceeded our expectations. Having something so wonderful for Zoe to look forward to has been a bright light in her treatment process. She's only got a few short months to go before she's finished with chemo entirely and our family can't wait."

How travel makes wishes come true

United Airlines continues to support Make-A-Wish in its mission of granting wishes for children with critical illnesses and their families throughout this holiday season and beyond, providing mission-critical travel resources to help their wishes take flight. In addition, all year long, United MileagePlus^® members have the opportunity to donate MileagePlus miles to several charities, including Make-A-Wish, through its "Miles on a Mission" platform.

This holiday season, from Dec. 1 to 31, 2025, United Airlines is stepping up its support of Make-A-Wish by inviting MileagePlus members to donate miles or money to Make-A-Wish - and United will match the miles donations up to 5 million miles.

For the first time in the history of their partnership, United will include a call-to-action for miles and cash on all in-flight entertainment systems during the month of December. In addition, $1 from every illy^® cold brew purchased inflight will be donated to Make-A-Wish, up to $25,000, helping bring hope to children facing critical illnesses.

Make-A-Wish will also be a part of several United hub market Fantasy Flight activations during the month of December. This is a United-led initiative where they turn a gate into the "North Pole": Kids will leave from one terminal, make a short trip in the sky and then land at the "North Pole," where United employees are waiting to celebrate with the children.

Unwrap the power of a wish today and help grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Visit Donate.mileageplus.com/giving-tuesday to learn how you can bring joy and hope to children when they need it most.

Miles, awards and benefits are subject to the rules of the United MileagePlus program. For details, see www.united.com.