The mission of the Shining Stars Foundation is to provide sport, recreational, and outreach programs for children with cancer and life threatening diseases at no cost to the child or their families.  
                                   

        Through the Shining Stars programs, children experience many benefits, including enhanced overall health, increased self-confidence, and the opportunity to participate in activities with family and friends. Our community of children and their families get invoved with each others lives; they encourage and support each other.  We bring newly diagnosed children into our program each year, and they join activities and interact with kids who are in the midsts of difficult treatments, and kids who are healed and cancer-free.  A very inspiring aspect of our programs is when a child struggling with their illness meets a child who has recovered from the same disease.  The child who is fighting illness gets hope from this meeting for wellness and a better life while the child who has been there and back has empathy and support.

    With the help of over 350 dedicated volunteers and businesses during the 2006 - 2007 fiscal year, the Shining Stars Foundation touched the lives of 912 children and their families.  On a year round basis the foundation hosts a week long Winter Games Week, therapeutic recreation activities, diversified outreach programs, and overnight reunion events for the children and their entire family.  Additionally, the Foundation indirectly serviced 3,000 unduplicated clients through our website and newsletters that were published quarterly and sent to each of the households in our database.

Doctors refer patients to our programs that often have lost their will to live and typically are challenged with difficult social and economic issues that further complicate their diagnosis.  All services are provided at no cost to the child or their family.  Last year approximately 7200 hours of volunteer service was donated to our events.