40 Years of Delivering Happiness
Since 1982, Starlight has been delivering happiness to seriously ill children and their families.
It all began with a gesture to help one seriously ill child. Co-founders Peter Samuelson and Emma Samms fulfilled a child’s wish to visit Disneyland and at that moment, Starlight’s mission became clear — to channel the transformative power of a smile and bring emotional healing to children experiencing illness.
40 years later, Starlight Programs continue to bring smiles to millions of kids across the country. As our understanding of technology, children’s health, and the power of play has evolved, our offerings have expanded to address the diverse challenges of hospitalized kids. Through our signature programs — Gaming, Virtual Reality, Hospital Wear, and Deliveries — Starlight has brought comfort to more than 21 million kids in over 800 hospitals through the healing power of play, directly in the hospital setting, at no cost to the hospital.
Starlight is proud of what we have accomplished in 40 years. Take a look back at some of our most pivotal moments:
1982
The first Starlight wish was granted by Peter Samuelson and Emma Samms to a seriously ill boy, Sean, who was hospitalized with a brain tumor.
1983
Starlight was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in the United States on February 2. Beginning as a wish-granting organization bringing smiles to sick kids through special experiences, Peter and Emma drew inspiration for Starlight’s name from the popular poem, Star Light, Star Bright.
1986
Starlight goes global! Launching in the UK in 1986, followed by Australia and Canada in 1988 and 1989. While all Starlight organizations operate independently from one another, we remain united in our mission to deliver happiness to seriously ill kids.
1990
Starlight opened its first Starlight Space in Los Angeles. This innovative, state-of-the-art, and interactive environment became a place where kids and families could relax and enjoy time together in the hospital.
1992
Starlight Gaming launched in partnership with Nintendo of America. The original Starlight Gaming Station, featuring a Nintendo NES, brought the healing power of play to hospitalized kids by providing easy access to their favorite video games, movies, and more.
1995
Starbright World launched through Starlight by Steven Spielberg, Peter Samuelson, and General H. Normal Schwarzkopf. It was the first-ever private social network for teens with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions.
2001
Starlight moved further into the future of technology! Explorer Series® was launched as an interactive multimedia program that educated children about medical procedures and illnesses.
PC Pals® launched, providing laptops for pediatric patients.
2002
Quest for the Code® launched as Starlight’s second online experience to help children and teens learn how to manage their asthma, find coping tips, and get advice.
2003
The X-Men® in: Life Lessons launched as a comic book to help kids and teens recover emotionally from serious burn injuries and cope with teasing and staring as they re-enter society.
2004
Coping with Chemo® launched as a series of online animated web episodes to help children and teens with cancer learn how to cope with the challenges of their illness and undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments.
2013
Starlight launched The Hub, an e-commerce platform that enables hospitals to request exactly what they need for their patients, allowing for streamlined program distribution to an interconnected network of Starlight Hospitals across the country.
2016
Starlight launched its Starlight Hospital Wear program with the introduction of fun, comfy, and colorful Starlight Gowns as a replacement for traditional hospital gowns.
Starlight launched its Starlight Virtual Reality program in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company, Star Wars: Force for Change, Google, and Lenovo to transform the hospital experience for kids through the power of VR.
2019
Starlight and Nintendo of America unveiled the newest addition to our longtime Gaming program: the Starlight Nintendo Switch Gaming Station.
Starlight launched the first Stream For Starlight campaign, uniting content creators,
gamers, and individuals to stream content and raise money to deliver happiness
to seriously ill kids.Mickey & Friends-themed Starlight Gowns were added to the Starlight Gown rotation and delivered to hospitals across the country.
2020
Starlight launched its Commitment for Change initiative in response to racial injustices, which continue to impact communities today. This initiative prioritizes placing more programs in hospitals for medically underserved and vulnerable populations.
ESPN & Frozen-themed Starlight Gowns were added to the Starlight Gown rotation and began being delivered to hospitals across the country.
2021
The Starlight Nintendo Switch Handheld debuted to provide a more portable iteration of the Gaming station, which allows healthcare professionals more flexibility in the type of situations that they can utilize.
As part of Disney’s Ultimate Princess Celebration, Starlight and Disney teamed up to add Princess-themed hospital gowns to Starlight’s Hospital Wear collection.
2022
The first class of Starlight Kid Ambassadors launched, featuring the stories of Demi, Finn, and Kyrell.
Starlight was the official celebrated charity for the 2022 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend in Orlando, Florida where the participants raised nearly $40,000 for Starlight!
Starlight’s newest program, Starlight Education, officially launched and provides educational resources to help seriously ill kids grow and learn.
