Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Feb. 11, 2025 – Have a heart and help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses in Northeast Arkansas by donating at a location near you at the 27th Annual Have-A-Heart Wish-A-Thon this Friday.

Hosted by the Jonesboro Media Group (JMG), KAIT, and Make-A-Wish Mid-South, this will be an all-day affair filled with storytelling and community with on-coverage from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

According to JMG Sales Manager and On-Air Talent Christie Matthews, the event has raised more than $9 million over the last 27 years, helping to grant hundreds of wishes.

“Wishes truly are life changing,” Matthews said. “Research actually shows that children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. This can improve their quality of life and produce better health outcomes. Wishes aren’t just nice, they’re necessary.”

There is also still time to sign up to be a volunteer at one of the Have-A-Heart roadblocks. The cut-off to sign up is Thursday. Click here to sign up.

“It’s our goal to raise enough money during this one day event, to fund the wishes of every eligible child in Northeast Arkansas,” she continued. “There are currently 13 kids in Northeast Arkansas who are waiting to have their wish granted.  We have hundreds of volunteers across 17 cities armed with Make-A-Wish buckets and signs ready to make those wishes come true and a whole lot more!”

To donate, you can text WISH to 43414, call 870-933-8800, donate online at Make-A-Wish Foundation, or stop by one of the 18 different roadblock locations.

Have-A-Heart roadblock locations and keywords to text to donate are below:

  • Bay – Text BAY to 43414
  • Bono – Text BONO to 43414
  • Brookland – Text BROOKLAND to 43414
  • Caraway – Text CARAWAY to 43414
  • Jonesboro (Highland Drive) – Text HIGHLAND to 43414
  • Jonesboro (Red Wolf Blvd) – Text REDWOLF to 43414
  • Corning – Text CORNING to 43414
  • Harrisburg – Text HARRISBURG to 43414
  • Leachville – Text LEACHVILLE to 43414
  • Lepanto – Text LEPANTO to 43414
  • Marked Tree – Text MARKEDTREE to 43414
  • Paragould – Text PARAGOULD to 43414
  • Piggott – Text PIGGOTT to 43414
  • Pocahontas – Text POCAHONTAS to 43414
  • Rector – Text RECTOR to 43414
  • Trumann – Text TRUMANN to 43414
  • Walnut Ridge & Hoxie – Text WALNUT to 43414
  • Weiner – Text WEINER to 43414