When You Wish Upon a Star is a truly extraordinary charity, tirelessly granting magical wishes for brave children living with life-threatening illnesses to give them and their families a well-deserved break from constant hospital appointments.
As part of our dedicated partnership, we have ensured that all funds raised by our players will directly support wishes for children right here in Scotland.
A wish granted offers a priceless escape. Whether it’s meeting a favorite character, transforming into a superhero for a day, or enjoying a magical trip away, these experiences bring a glimmer of hope and joy during the most difficult times. We are deeply honored that every ticket our players buy helps keep this magic alive for Scottish families.
When You Wish Upon a Star has a simple mission, to grant the Wishes of children living with a life threatening illness. The charity was founded in Nottingham by Barbara White CIOF OBE who was so inspired by a seriously ill four year old with a dream to meet Mickey Mouse that she wanted to bring smiles to the faces of many more brave and courageous children. Our Wishes have the power to transform the lives of the children and families we work with and since 1990 we have proudly granted over 18000 Wishes across the UK.
Some children Wish to be a fairy princess or soldier for the day, meet celebrities or sporting heroes that range from the Red Arrows to Mary Berry and others Wish for a laptop to keep in contact with their friends and family whilst in hospital. One of our most popular Wishes remains the exciting opportunity to swim with dolphins and meet all their favourite characters in Disney World, Florida.
In addition to our Wishes throughout the year, we also organise a number of days out and treats for the children like our incredible Harry Potter-themed trips on-board the beautiful Belmond Northern Belle train, where characters entertain the children on their journey with weird and wonderful magic, flying broomsticks, props and costumes, keeping them amazed and entertained all day.
Every December the charity also enables hundreds of children to swap hospital beds for sleigh rides transporting them away from appointments, treatments and injections to the winter wonderland of Lapland in Finland on board our Santa Express flights.
We believe every child deserves to smile and with your support we can provide time away, giving children and their families something to look forward to through times of uncertainty and often financial as well as emotional strain. Wishes and Treats allow the family to put their child’s illness on hold as they have fun and create precious memories.
When You Wish Upon a Star has proudly been granting magical wishes for over 35 years to brave and courageous children living with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.
As a charity that receives no government funding, they rely entirely on community fundraising, corporate partners, and donations to bring hope to hundreds of sick children and their families every year.
By playing the Scottish Children’s Lottery, your support ensures this vital mission continues, allowing us to keep granting wishes for the children who truly deserve to feel joy.
This was Laura’s wish…
We’re supporting hundreds of good causes across Scotland every year.
We’re always trying to find ways to support organisations at all levels to get a little bit extra out of the extraordinary work that they do.
For this reason the Scottish Children’s Lottery, in partnership with The Scotto and What a Lotto, launched The Bright Futures Fund. Created with one goal in mind: helping charities operating on a smaller scale make a big impact.
You can find out more about the The Bright Futures Fund and the work that we do by downloading the 2025 Impact Report. You can also find out more about the various grants that we’re awarded over the years by downloading our Grant Awards document.
Download the 2025 Impact Report
Download the Grant Awards document
