Sports fan merchandise company Fanatics has become a fan of helping give children in crisis an experience. The Michael Rubin-founded company has become the “official sports partner” of Make-A-Wish, starting off the effort with a $10 million contribution to the foundation while opening more than 900 sports partnerships and exclusive contracts with thousands of athletes to the nonprofit dedicated to creating life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses.

“Having the ability to help make the world a better place by creating lasting memories for these children is ingrained at the core of what we do at Fanatics,” Orlando Ashford, Fanatics chief people officer, tells me. “These values, paired with our inextricable tie to athletes, teams and leagues make this partnership with Make-A-Wish a natural fit.”

Fanatics, now a global digital sports platform that serves as the official partner for the five major U.S. professional sports team leagues—the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS—along with NASCAR and the PGA, plans to use its partnerships and contracts to help create “once-in-a-lifetime experiences for wish kids and their families,” all part of the broader sports-related efforts from Make-A-Wish.

The efforts include supporting wishes around athlete meet-and-greets, championship games, all-star weekends, rookie drafts and other premier sporting events.

“A critical illness upends childhoods, bringing months, and sometimes years, of fear and traumatic stress into the lives of children and their families,” says Leslie Motter, Make-A-Wish America president and CEO. “Our partnership with Fanatics will help us create transformative experiences that will leave a lasting, positive impact long after the wish, often marking a turning point in a child’s treatment and recovery.”

Fanatics says that the brand’s more than 900 partnerships and contracts in the world of sports, with teams, leagues and individual athletes, opens the brand up to give Make-A-Wish unprecedented access in the world of sports.

“Fanatics has been championing Make-A-Wish and its incredible efforts for many years, and this partnership will be an ongoing testament to the power of sports and the possibilities for children to heal through connections to their favorite teams and sports heroes,” Ashford says. “Fanatics’ relationships and access to thousands of athletes across all sports, a wide-ranging roster of preeminent partners, and expanding sports platform will all be leveraged to give these incredibly brave kids and their families the most memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that we’re honored to deliver.”

To start, Make-A-Wish is holding a Fanatics-sponsored event in New York City on Oct. 24 that features Tom Brady, Aaron Judge and Jayson Tatum, all granting the wishes of multiple children getting to meet and spend time with the athletes. Such events continue during the 2023 World Series.

As part of the partnership, Fanatics will make a $10 million contribution to allow Make-A-Wish to access additional resources, including merchandise and production costs for external storytelling efforts while building the comprehensive partnership.

“It’s an honor for us to be able to leverage our relationships to bring the magic of once-in-a-lifetime sports experiences to young people who need it most,” Ashford says. “This partnership also creates a great opportunity for our employees to give back in a meaningful way at events and experiences throughout the year.”