The Cheesecake Shop has announced a new three-year partnership with Make-A-Wish Australia, to help change the lives of sick children and teenagers.
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing experiences for children with life-threatening illnesses and is currently working with more than 950 critically ill children to make their wishes come true.
The partners will work together on planned activations for customers, franchisees and team members including donations, volunteer support and community activations.
The Cheesecake Shop CEO Scott Bush said the charity partnership aligned with the business’s mission to spread joy and celebrate life’s moments.
“No product is more synonymous with the blowing out of candles and imagination of wishes more than cake. For decades, we have been helping people make their wishes at The Cheesecake Shop, we thought it was about time, we helped with granting them too,” Bush said.
“We are privileged to share some truly exciting moments and wonderful milestones in the lives of our customers across Australia and New Zealand.
Make-A-Wish helps lift the spirits of sick kids
“The pride we take in celebrating these moments comes with a profound sense of responsibility. For the thousands of Aussie kids living with a critical illness, there’s not often cause for celebration, only an all-consuming focus on fighting for their future.
“The dedication and commitment shown by Make-A-Wish Australia to lifting the spirits of seriously ill children by granting their wish is something we are proud to support,” he said.
Recent studies* estimate more than 14,000 Australian children are living with a life-threatening illness and thousands more are born or diagnosed with serious illnesses each year.
Make-A-Wish Australia CEO Sally Bateman said for children living with critical illnesses, the treatment is often long and uncertain and there is little opportunity for sick kids to enjoy the special moments of childhood.
“Like us, The Cheesecake Shop understands the difference wishes can make bringing much needed hope and joy during some of the toughest of times and we look forward to what we can achieve together in the community.”
*Bowers, A. P., Chan, R. J., Herbert, A., & Yates, P. (2020). Estimating the prevalence of life-limiting conditions in Queensland for children and young people aged 0-21 years using health administration data. Australian Health Review: a publication of the Australian Hospital Association, 44(4), 630–636. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH19170
