2012 VISION
The vision our Lord has given us for 2012 is to establish relationships with a total of ten children's hospitals by January 2013. We currently work in five. Please be in prayer for us as we pursue our Lord's vision.
CHRISTMAS 2011 - WOW!!
What a blessed Christmas!! We provided presents to over 430 children in four children's hospitals on Christmas Day. Please visit our projects page for details.
OUR JOURNEY EXPANDS TO EGLESTON AND SCOTTISH RITE IN ATLANTA
It is official. We are now working at Egleston and Scottish Rite Children's Hospitals in Atlanta. As our Lord leads into new territory with new challenges we continue to seek to be obedient to HIS call on our lives to help these hurting children and their families. IN 2011 we will provide Christmas presents to 145 children at Eaglston and we are working with Scottish Rite to provide presents to their children also. In addition to the Christmas presents we are assisting the families of non cancer patients. Please continue to pray for us as we seek HIS guidance in this service to HIM.
1ST ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT TO BENEFIT OUR WORK AT SHANDS
The Country Club of Ocala hosted our 1st annual golf tournament/dinner/silent auction to raise funds for our work at Shands Children's Hospital. Please visit our projects page for more information.
2ND ANNUAL "CHRISTMAS IN JULY"
The second annual Christmas in July project is now underway. This project benefits the children in Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Pensacola, FL. For more information on this event, visit our projects page.
2ND ANNUAL CHRIST'S STARFISH FOUNDATION CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
2011 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP BIRDIES FOR CHARITY
To find out more about the 2nd annual Christ's Starfish Foundation Charity Golf Tournament and how you can be eligible to win a fabulous trip to Melbourne, Australia, visit our projects page.
2010 - A BLESSED YEAR FOR CHRIST'S STARFISH FOUNDATION
What an incredible year we experienced at Christ's Starfish Foundation. God has truly blessed as we strive to be obedient to to HIS call on our lives. With the support of so many individuals, businesses, and churches we were able to accomplish so much. We were also blessed to receive a $25,000 Quality of Life Grant from the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation. MDRT is a premier association of financial professionals.( See article below)
During the year we were able to provide assistance in over 80 cases to 57 families totaling over $30,000.00 of support. The support included approximately $12,000 for Wolfson families, $11,000 for Shands, and $8,000 for Sacred Heart. These projects included assistance with mortgage and rent payments, electric bills, gas cards, hotel bills, cribs and strollers, car rental and repair, and medications.
During the summer, we provided presents to 50 children for a "Christmas in July" project at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Karyn Weekly, her son Parker, and her mom Patty Hawthorne partnered with us. It was an awesome day!
We provided over 3,000 presents to Wolfson Children's Hospital for 128 children who were in the hospital on Christmas Day. We also provided gifts to seven dialysis patients at their annual Christmas Party held at the Jacksonville Zoo. In addition, we provided over 1,800 presents to 110 children who were in Shands Children's Hospital on Christmas Day. For more information on this inspired work, go to our projects page.
In March, we conducted our first annual golf tournament/dinner/silent auction at Palencia Golf and Country Club. Ninety-one golfers had a great day and the dinner and silent auction were a huge success. This years' tournament will be on March 22nd at Palencia. We hope you will make plans to attend.
A HUGE thank you goes out to all those who supported and worked so hard to make 2010 the foundation's best year ever.
CHRIST'S STARFISH RECEIVES MDRT FOUNDATION HIGHEST AWARD
Carldon Lahey, founder and president of Christ's Starfish Foundation was awarded a $25,000 Quality of Life Grant by the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation for outstanding community service.
The MDRT Foundation's Quality of Life program, which was created in 1990, recognizes MDRT members for their community involvement. This year, 22 recipients were selected for the award. A total of $100,000 was donated by the MDRT Foundation to charities in the name of 22 MDRT member volunteers. In June 2010, six members received the largest grants. The awards included three $5,000, two $10,000, and one $25,000 The awards were presented at the annual meeting which was held in Vancouver BC.
The Million Dollar Round Table is the Premier Association of Financial Professionals. Founded in 1927, MDRT is an international, independent association of more than 35,000, or less than 1 percent, of the world's best life insurance and financial services professionals from 491 companies in 87 nations and territories. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional product knowledge, strict ethical conduct, and outstanding client service. MDRT Membership is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business.
The MDRT Foundation was created in 1959 to provide Round Table members with a means to give back to their communities. Since it's inception, it has donated $23.2 million to more than 1,600 worthy charities around the world. The majority of these funds was raised by MDRT members from MDRT members. Some of the organizations that have benefited from MDRT Foundation grants are: Make-A-Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army.
Christ's Starfish Foundation feels extremely blessed to be this years recipient of the highest award granted.
Welcome
Christ’s Starfish Foundation is a 501(c) (3) Christian organization that helps hurting children and their families in the Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Pensacola, Florida areas. We do this by providing two services. First we provide support to the child life specialists for all of the children at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Jacksonville, at Shands Hospital, Gainesville, and Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. One of the biggest ways we do this is to provide Christmas presents to the children who are in the hospital on Christmas Day.
We also provide support to the families of children with non-cancer illnesses. There are two organizations that provide support to the families of children with cancer; Tom Coughlin’s Jay Fund and a child cancer group started by parents of children who have cancer. The hospitalization of a child requires that at least one parent be with them during their stay. This often results in missed work and no pay. Examples of expenses we may help with would include rent or mortgage payments, electric bills, phone bills, gas expense, and food.
What’s in a Name?
Some people ask about our name. Have you ever heard the story of the little boy picking up starfish on the beach? He picked them up one by one and threw them back into the ocean. A man who had been watching from far off approached him and said, “Son there are hundreds of starfish on the beach, you will never be able to save them all.” The little boy stooped down,picked up a starfish and with a grin on his face, tossed it into the ocean. He then turned to the man and said, “I made a difference to that one.” At Christ’s Starfish Foundation that is all we are trying to do. We are trying to make a difference, one hurting family at a time.
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