Starlight Childrens Foundation

Description

We touch the lives of a sick child and family all along their journey through a serious illness, from the time of diagnosis all the way through, in the hospital and at home. Families become part of our community and we work hard to meet their needs in a wide variety of ways. We build playrooms and teen lounges in hospitals and provide PC Pals and Fun Centers so kids can play games, e-mail, chat with friends, and even do their homework from their hospital bed. We bring in entertainers and sponsor parties for kids who are stuck in the hospital. When the kids get to go home, we keep them connected them through online chat rooms and special outings for the entire family. We provide them with information about specific illnesses and treatments on our websites and through videos and games we create. We distribute hundreds of thousands of books and toys every year. We are there for them at the time they need it most.

Starlight softens the hard edges of what a family experiences when a child has a serious illness. We create a sense of community between families who are having similar experiences by providing opportunities for them to escape the hospital, doctors, nurses, needles and treatments and doing something fun where they get to join others and just feel "normal" again--perhaps even forgetting that anyone is sick for a short while.