Thank you for reaching out to Rays of Sunshine.
Due to a high volume of ongoing wish applications, we are currently pausing our acceptance of new referrals/wish applications. This allows us to dedicate our full attention to fulfilling the wishes already in our pipeline and ensuring each child receives the magical experience they deserve.
We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. We are committed and working hard to make sure we can accept new applications as soon as possible, please do come back to our website at a later date for more updates.
Urgent wishes (under 12 month prognosis)
At present, we are only able to accept referrals from medical professionals for children/young people with a prognosis of under 12 months. You will need permission from the parent/guardian before applying and the child/young person must meet our eligibility criteria in order for us to consider them for a wish.
Once you have submitted the referral, we will be in touch with you to confirm the medical condition/prognosis and next steps.
*Please note – if at any point we are made aware the prognosis does not fall under 12 months, we will have to close the application on our system.
Refer an urgent wish
For a child to be eligible to have a wish granted by Rays of Sunshine, the child must:
1. Have a history of or currently have a serious or life-limiting illness
2. Aged between three and 18 years of age*
3. Be a UK resident
*applications will be accepted until the day before the child's 18th birthday
Please note: So that your child’s wish can be considered, this application needs to be completed accurately and in full. We cannot keep wishes open indefinitely, so please only apply when the child is ready to have their wish. Incomplete, misleading or false information could result in delays or rejection of the wish.
In addition: We are no longer accepting paper application forms from families or referrers. Our new online referral and application system is user-friendly and should take you less time to complete. If you have any issues using the online system, please contact the Wish Team on 020 8782 1171 or email wishes@raysofsunshine.org.uk
At Rays of Sunshine, the wish is just the beginning. Our wish community events are free, accessible events for our wish children and their families.
We have lots of entertaining events in the calendar, including exclusive private screenings, our online choir, an event with Ferrari — and so much more. There’s something for everyone!
Rays of Sunshine Sensory Bags are a set of sensory resources categorised into four groups to help facilitate play interventions to children and young people specifically requiring sensory play. The bags include resources to help stimulate and support:
• Vision
• Hearing
• Touch
• Fidget/Mindfulness
The Sunshine in Hospitals Grant aims to provide a one-off sum of up to £20,000 to a UK hospital, hospice or other healthcare setting to fund a project that will support seriously ill young people aged three to 18.
