Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation - December 2004

Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation
1850 Sawtelle Blvd. Suite 450
Los Angeles, California 90025
tel: 310.479.1212
email: info@starlight.org
web: http://www.slsb.org/


Children fighting serious illnesses often feel like they're alone. They don't get to see their friends as often as they'd like. Most of their time is spent shuffling between hospital rooms or meeting with physicians. With so much commotion on the outside, it can be easy to forget that there's a child on the inside. Starlight Starbright makes sure that never happens.

The Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation is an international non-profit organization founded to make sure that seriously ill children still have a chance to be kids. Our programs and services are designed to restore some of the laughter and happiness that illness takes away from kids and to offer them and their families programs and services that empower them in the face of illness.

Children and teenagers served by Starlight Starbright suffer from chronic, serious, or life threatening illnesses and injuries, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease, as well as those impacted by severe injuries such as traumatic burn or spinal cord injuries. Each month, Starlight Starbright's programs touch the lives of more than 180,000 children and families.

We do whatever we can to let kids be kids by giving them a chance to forget about being sick for awhile. Whether it's joining in an online chat with other children, playing a video game in a hospital room, or participating in a fun event with their families, the more time they spend just being kids, the less time they spend being sick kids.

We've learned that when a child is sick, their entire family is affected. Mothers. Fathers. Grandparents. Brothers. Sisters. At the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, we're committed to giving seriously ill children the resources they need so they can enjoy their childhood. The way we look at it, while the doctors are working to heal their bodies, we are healing their spirits.

Children laugh. Parents relax. The family feels together. Because even though we're treating the child, we're helping the whole family.


About the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation

Who We Are
Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of seriously ill children and their families.

What We Do
We offer an array of innovative, research-based programs that empower, educate, entertain, and inspire.

Who We Serve
Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation serves children and teenagers suffering from chronic, serious, or life threatening illnesses and injuries, including cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, kidney disease, as well as severe burn and spinal cord injuries. Our programs are available to children and families, hospitals, clinics, schools, support groups, faith based organizations, and healthcare centers. Starlight Starbright touches the lives of more than 180,000 children each month.

About Our Programs
Starlight Starbright brings together experts from pediatrics, technology, and entertainment to create programs that address the social, emotional, and medical aspects of living with a serious illness. Our programs empower children and families to take charge of their illness, play a more active role in their treatment, and better cope with the challenges that accompany prolonged illness.

Based in Science
Research studies conducted on select Starlight Starbright programs indicate benefits for children who engage with these programs, including:
· Decreased pain and anxiety
· Increased knowledge and sense of responsibility for managing disease
· Decreased need for pain medication
· A greater willingness to return for treatment
· An increased sense of peer support
· Reduced stress, loneliness and isolation

How to Help
Starlight Starbright has earned the support of some of North America's top corporations, thousands of individual donors and countless volunteers. To learn more about how you can help or to find the Starlight Starbright chapter nearest you, please send us an email or contact us at 1-800-315-2580.


Healthcare professionals provide feedback critical to the continual development of Starlight Starbright programs and the creation of new ones. Here are what some have to say:

"Parents' hope is restored when they see their child playing and smiling again. Starlight Starbright recognizes that play is a powerful tool in helping kids cope with the feelings of anxiety and fear that often accompany hospitalization…These are challenging financial times in healthcare and Starlight Starbright has been my lifeline, enabling my team to continue its commitment to meet the individual needs of each child."
-Anne Theisen, Director of Child Life
Children's Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

"I have been meaning to drop you a quick note to let you know how successful the Quest for the Code school asthma program has been in Wake County, NC. We are getting ready to start up the program again this year and the interest and involvement from the school RNs, teachers, staff, parents and children has been better than we had ever hoped. We piloted this program last year in 8 schools with 78 children (all asthmatics). The program has also received quite a bit of media attention, including how parents can order the cd. We wanted to thank you and Starlight Starbright for making the Quest for the Code available. We and the school RNs agree that this is by far the most successful asthma education program Wake County schools have ever participated in."
-Diana Statler BS, RRT-RCP
Manager Rex Lung Center and Respiratory Care Department
Rex Healthcare, Raleigh, NC

"We would just die without the Fun Centers. I couldn't do my job without them. They make a huge difference, especially for the kids who are having pain management issues. They are also really important for kids who are waiting to have surgery. If you're just sitting there doing nothing, you get really nervous. But if you can sit there and play Nintendo for two hours, who cares about surgery?"
-Heather Omlid, Child Life Specialist
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, Tacoma, WA


Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation
1850 Sawtelle Blvd. Suite 450
Los Angeles, California 90025
tel: 310.479.1212
email: info@starlight.org
web: http://www.slsb.org/