Due to the pandemic, Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic decided to turn to a 100% virtual approach for its annual Evening of Wishes fundraising gala that typically takes place in person. Our team produced the full virtual event, and this particular piece was the mission moment for the evening as well as a video used digitally on the organization’s channels to drive awareness. The mission of Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich their lives with hope, strength, and joy. Our video production agency was brought on to tell the story of a wish family and their journey from their child’s diagnosis to their wish being granted. We needed to take extra precautions because of the pandemic and determine a way to create an emotionally impactful and inspiring video almost entirely remotely. Our mission was clear, to spread awareness about the incredible impact of a wish on children, families, and communities and to help raise funds to make even more wishes possible.
This 10-minute documentary style video told the story of a special wish family and captured the moment wish kid Isabella’s wish came true. This segment was the heart of their fundraising event, and our team worked closely with Isabella’s family to share their story through emotional interviews with powerful connection, even though they were conducted over a Zoom recording. These interviews were woven together with archival videos and photos that the family shared with us to provide an experiential look into their journey as a family from the very beginning. We also captured footage that a few members of our team filmed at the family’s home when Isabella’s wish was revealed. This footage was used to bookend the video, and our editor created a compelling storyline. by teasing the wish itself, flashing back to tell the family’s amazing story, and ending with an uplifting reveal to truly showcase the impact Make-A-Wish can have. We set out to honor this brave family, and our team truly came together during a pivotal time to produce this project, and created an impactful outcome for our client.
The online/virtual event that this video was featured in was a successful fundraiser that raised close to $500,000 for Make-A-Wish Mid Atlantic, but it also engaged supporters like never before during a time when it didn’t seem possible. While we’ve produced many videos for Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic over the years, we were able to create something just as powerful for them during a global pandemic when on-site production was not safe, and wishes - plus the funds needed to make them happen - mattered more than ever before. We had full creative freedom apart from the organization's brand guidelines, to create something truly unique using the resources we had, the institutional knowledge of our client, and the collective skill sets from members of our team. We used our storytelling capabilities to produce something powerful, and it was meaningful project that our team is very proud of.
