The national charity, which aims to fulfill the wishes of extremely sick children, is calling on the Newcastle community to join the city’s first volunteer branch of Make-A-Wish.

There are more than 40 children in the Newcastle region with a life-threatening illness waiting for their wish to come true.

Ms Kleef has seen first-hand the joy and hope a wish brings to a child who is ill.

“I just like what they do; I see the need in giving sick kids hope,” she said.

The Adamstown mother watched as volunteers from Make-A-Wish gave hope to her six-year-old son Nathan, who was diagnosed with a rare immune deficiency.

“Nathan has been with an immune deficiency from very young and we’ve been in the oncology wards for that at Westmead [Hospital] and John Hunter [Hospital],” she said.

It was through the hospitals she heard about the children’s charity organisation.

Nathan required two bone marrow transplants and it was after the second that she signed him up for a wish.

“It just gave him so much hope and so much to look forward to, because he’d been in isolation a lot in the last few years, so this really gave him something really special to look forward to that was his,” she said.

Nathan was granted his wish to go to Brisbane to see Monster Jam.

“He only got out of isolation the week before we went, so it was good to finally be a family and do things around people and not have to worry about him catching a cold or flu or something,” she said.

“He was so excited leading up to it. He was counting down the days on the calendar.”

Now, as a volunteer, she hopes to help someone else’s child see their wish be realised.

The Newcastle branch of Make-A-Wish will hold an information and training session at the Chifley Apartments in Newcastle on October 29.

Book through t.melville@makeawish.org.au or 03 9426 0723.