Make-A-Wish America announced the recipient of its first annual World Wish Day Star Award for exceptional contributions to helping grant wishes to kids with life-threatening medical conditions. Over 13,800 wishes were granted across the country in the fiscal year 2011 of which more than 900 involved celebrities.

“For Make-A-Wish, celebrities are not simply promotional faces and voices — they are essential to fulfilling our wish-granting mission,” said David A. Williams, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish America. “This year we would like to honor a special celebrity who has gone above and beyond to create wish experiences that make life better for wish kids, families, and communities.“

This year’s Annual Award recipient is:

Miley Cyrus — Miley has granted dozens of wishes and remains one of the most popular celebrity wish requests, with numerous wish requests at any given time. Wish kids remark how attentive and gracious Miley is and how generous she is with her time. Make-A-Wish presented Miley with the award at a special event in Phoenix, where she granted the wishes of 8 wish kids.

Miley Cyrus, for the third year, joins Make-A-Wish in celebrating World Wish Day and its mission to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Miley granted wishes for children traveling from around the world, including Canada and Australia. In recognition for Miley’s incredible support in raising awareness for World Wish Day and for her outstanding achievement in granting 150 wishes, Make-A-Wish presented her with an inaugural World Wish Day Star Award. Miley will share her wish-granting experience and award on wish.org, through social media and on a special segment here, all in honor of World Wish Day.

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed say a wish come true can affect their health outcomes. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States, its territories and in 47 countries on five continents. With the help of generous donors and more than 30,000 volunteers worldwide, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the world every 23 minutes. It has granted more than 280,000 wishes since its inception in 1980. Visit Make-A-Wish America at www.wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish(R).

Source: MarketWatch.com