About this Project

History happens every day. Let's make history.

Elections come every few years, but a quick look at our past makes it clear that voting isn’t the only way to shape the country. One hundred years ago, voting wasn’t even an option for many of us. Cleaner air, weekends, and even the concept of a minimum wage were the result of so-called average Americans banding together to demand better.

We get that it can be hard to know where to start. But this is a simple one. My Wish For U.S. is an invitation to share your wish for the future of the United States of America as we approach our country’s 250th birthday. Much as we love the idea of having a virtual stack of birthday cards for this epic anniversary, we have three main reasons for collecting your wishes and stories:

• To reveal and share what we stand for—as individuals and as a nation. By articulating how our ideals might come to life, we can inspire each other to take action.
• To offer new ways to discover surprising similarities, and important differences, with neighbors— across town and across the country.
• To inform what the Made By Us team creates for YOU - sharing what matters most ensures we can create relevant and powerful tools and experiences that catalyze our visions of the future. 

This official recognition acknowledges the “My Wish for U.S.” program as an expression of the America 250 vision to inspire the American spirit. Official recognition includes this program in the monumental and cohesive commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. However, this recognition does not constitute and shall not be construed as Commission’s or Foundation’s approval of or responsibility for any aspect of the program’s organization, content or implementation, including, without limitation, opinions, comments and wishes that are uploaded or posted on this website, or any other website or social media page controlled by Made By Us. The AMERICA 250™ trademark and logo is owned and licensed by the United States Semiquincentennial Commission. Unauthorized use of the AMERICA 250™ trademarks is strictly prohibited.

It doesn’t stop at sharing a wish.

We’re just getting started with creating more ways to participate in shaping our nation’s future, powered by history. Here are a few places to begin making your wish a reality:

• Bring #MyWishForUS out into the world. If you’re under 13 but want to contribute your vision, or if you want to take this offline or into a classroom, scout troop or supervised setting, here’s an Activity PDF you can download featuring other ways to join in.
• Learn new tools in our free, virtual Future Made By Us workshop series! This past summer, we hosted many sessions sharing innovation tools to turn your wish into reality. See what else is coming.
• Send your wish to your local representative, to advocate for the change you want to see - we’ve made it easy, as you can Tweet at your local reps right from your wish.
• Explore wishes across the site to see support, or differences of opinion, on your wish topic. Are there others in your community who might join you? Where else can you begin to learn about your topic locally? Connect with others in a Brave Conversation hosted by our friends at Weave.
• Take a spin through the websites of our many partners across the nation who offer resources to learn about ways of participating in history and democracy.
• Sign up for our newsletter to be notified about our upcoming programs, aimed at ways to build civic muscles and turn these wishes into our future.

Who is behind the My Wish for U.S. project?

Made By Us is an unprecedented effort by civic and history organizations to present history in relevant, provocative, and surprising ways for anyone who wants to participate in shaping the future of our country. Our goal is to help younger generations address real issues in real-time—with tools powered by history.

Thomas Jefferson was just 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King Jr. were in their teens, twenties, and early thirties when they made their mark. They were the “Millennials” of their time. They recognized that tomorrow is created through the choices we make today—and that we carry our shared history with us into the future, whether we choose to face it head-on or not.

Today, younger generations are more engaged—and more needed—than ever before to shape the next chapter. Over the next few years, we’ll listen, learn, and share tools and initiatives to address real issues in real time. Just as the signers of the Declaration framed a new world for Americans to bring to life, we have our own part to play in the coming chapters, by what we do and by what we don’t do.

With the nation’s 250th anniversary on the horizon, there’s no better moment to harness the power of our collective imagination and write the next 250 years—together.