It all began with a star...
Starlight Children's Foundation began in 1983 with the granting of a single wish for Sean, a young cancer patient living in London who was befriended by actress Emma Samms.
Emma, who had lost her own brother to aplastic anemia several years earlier, learned about Sean's wish to visit Disneyland. So she teamed up with her cousin, film producer Peter Samuelson, and arranged for Sean and his mother to spend a week in Los Angeles visiting the theme park and other famous attractions.
Sean died shortly after receiving his special wish trip, but not before his mother saw Sean's face light up with happiness as his dream came true.
Emma and Peter were so touched by the difference the experience had made in Sean's short life, they decided to form Starlight Children's Foundation, an organization that would grant wishes and provide diversionary entertainment services to children aged 4 through 18 years who are critically, chronically, or terminally ill.
Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation has since gone on to expand substantially. Starlight Starbright currently consists of more than 13 chapters and expansion committees worldwide and serves over 100,000 children each month through over 1,000 hospitals worldwide, using a combination of in-patient and out-patient programs.
Starlight Midwest
From the granting of a single wish in 1986, the Midwest chapter of Starlight has grown to an organization that touches the lives of nearly 13,000 children each month. So far this year, Starlight has been able to reach more children than ever before, primarily due to the expansion of the Great Escapes(GE), a program that provides recreational activities and special outings for seriously ill and disabled children as well as their immediate families. GE focuses on children who are treated at home, and it fills the gap often created when families cannot plan and afford activities, due to the stress and expense of having a child with a serious illness.
Within the hospitals, Starlight expanded its reach to more pediatric patients by launching the brand new PC Pal program. PC Pals are mobile PCs that kids can use at bedside to email friends and family, chat with other hospitalized children, play games and keep current on schoolwork. Also, a new Starlight Site called "Mission to Mars" was opened at Mount Sinai Hospital, bringing the total number of Starlight Sites in the Midwest to eight.
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