Winter Wishes
Winter Wishes
Winter Wishes has granted hundreds of thousands of gifts to NYC youth over the last 34 years! Each wish is matched with a generous wish granter who purchases and sends gifts directly to a nonprofit or school for distribution. The result? Pure holiday magic!
Coming soon: Winter Wishes 2025
Currently, nonprofits and schools are finalizing their applications to receive gifts for the children and teens in their community. Check back in October to register as Wish Granters to fulfill and purchase gifts for these young New Yorkers. In the meantime, if you are a company interested in getting early access to the program, complete our Corporate Inquiry form.
📅 Important Dates
October
Volunteers (that's you!) begin registering as Wish Granters to receive wishes (letters), and commit to purchasing and sending gifts (maximum $40 commitment per letter) directly to your assigned agency (aka Community Partner) for distribution.
Early November
Wish Granters are notified that you’ve been matched with individual digital letters and can begin sending gifts to your designated partner agency.
December 5, 2025
Deadline for Wish Granters to send gifts to your designated organization.
Late January 2026
New York Cares shares digital group thank you notes from Community Partners to Wish Granters.
🎁 Steps to Winter Wishes
Step 1: Children and teens write letters
Our Community Partners (nonprofits and schools in NYC) help their children/teens write letters requesting holiday gifts.
Step 2: Volunteers review letters
New York Cares volunteers review these digital letters and our staff match requests with Wish Granters.
Step 3: Volunteers register as Wish Granters
Wish Granters can register for between 1 and 300 letters (each letter comes with a $40 commitment).
Step 4: Presents arrive
Wish Granters mail holiday gifts directly to our Community Partners. Our Community Partners distribute the gifts to their children/teens, who enjoy a happy holiday knowing that someone cares about them!
Have questions?