Program Highlights 

Starlight Creates Family Fun and Lasting Memories for 1,000 Texas Families

Starlight Texas recently celebrated a milestone for our Great Escapes family activities program, as we welcomed our one thousandth participating family in the Lone Star State.

The Great Escapes program now serves families in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio and Waco with a variety of activities to help families make special memories together, including train trips, zoo and wildlife park outings, sporting events, carnivals, mother/daughter teas and holiday events. Great Escapes Coordinators work with our national and regional partners and volunteers to handle all the planning to make the events stress free and all inclusive for our families so that they have something to look forward to throughout the year.

As one Austin family recently said,“ The most positive thing about Great Escapes for my husband and me is seeing the smile on my daughter’s face. We do not see that smile too often, but we always know we will at a Great Escapes event.”

Great Escapes activities are designed to provide seriously ill children and family members with time to relax and find a network of support among families experiencing similar challenges. There are numerous opportunities for individuals, families and organizations to participate in the Great Escapes program, as a sponsor, volunteer or both! If you would like to create a spark and brighten the lives of Starlight families in your area, simply contact the Great Escapes Coordinator in your area. Click here to view our Starlight Texas team members (and contact information). 

Texas Teams Invite Starlight Families to Get in the Game

Whether it’s football, baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball or any other competitive sport, you will find legions of diehard fans throughout Texas. Like any other family, Starlight families root for their favorite teams and enjoy going to a game whenever possible.

Starlight Texas is grateful to all the teams who invited our families to get in the game this year by hosting Great Escapes and donating tickets to support our Day Brighteners program!

We extend a special thanks to the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros for including Starlight families at several games this year. The Rangers also provided 200 tickets to Starlight for their final game of the regular season before heading into the World Series.

In addition to providing tickets to Rangers regular season play, we are thankful for the brand new Fun Center sponsored by Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas.

FC Dallas donated tickets to Starlight for their last regular season professional soccer match. Starlight families cheered the team into the playoffs and enjoyed a concert after the game.

The Texas Brahmas and Kohl’s teamed up to create a Starlight Great Escape hockey event, allowing Starlight families to enjoy the Brahmas season opener, complete with dinner and complimentary Brahmas logo horns and pom-poms to help each child to cheer for the team. Kohl’s volunteers provided support throughout the event.

Do You Have a Really Cool Job? Talk about it on Starbright World®

You know, or at least remember, what it’s like to be a teen with the world at your fingertips. But have you ever stopped to think what it would be like to be a teen who is confined to a hospital bed or stuck at home for days, weeks on end because of a chronic or life-threatening illness? Imagine the feeling that you are missing out on all that life has to offer you.

With this in mind, Starlight created Starbright World, a private, online social network for seriously ill teens, ages 13 to 20, and their teen-aged siblings. Whether from home or the hospital, members are able to get to know other teens from around the world who are going through similar experiences.

One of the most popular features on Starbright World are guest chats, where individuals from all walks of life log on to spend some time with members using instant messaging. We are currently looking for people with interesting jobs — maybe like yours — to participate in a People with Really Cool Jobs chat series.

It is very easy to participate. All that is required is a brief orientation with Starlight staff, and then an hour of instant messaging from anywhere you have Internet access during which you will talk about your job and answer questions.

If you are interested in participating, please email sbw@starlight.org. We can be flexible with your schedule and are looking for chat guests to fill our 2011 calendar!

Thanks to Vivendi, New Enhancements Coming to Starbright World®

As you recall, in late 2009, Starlight unveiled the next generation of its Starbright World online social network thanks to generous contributions through signature sponsor Vivendi’s Create Joy Fund. Since Vivendi began its support of the program, membership has increased by an estimated 42 percent.

At the newly designed Starbright World, the latest in social networking technology was brought to the site. Since then,
members have been able to connect with each other via chat, take part in virtual contests and games, and express themselves
through stories, photos, videos, e-cards and personal profiles.

There is even more reason to celebrate on Starbright World now, as Vivendi has recently renewed its support once again through
another generous award! The latest gift will be used to introduce new and enhanced features on Starbright World to satisfy the ever-changing expectations of its young community and keep the site on par with other popular social networks.

Pending enhancements to Starbright World include:

• One-way video conferencing
  
• A music player
  
• Webinar functionality
  
• Additional instant messaging capabilities

The grant will also support 20/7 live chat hosting and site moderation as well as marketing and outreach to let more seriously ill teens know about the program.

If you would like to refer a seriously ill teen or teen-aged sibling to Starbright World, visit www.starbrightworld.org.