About Starlight
We are the UK’s leading charity working to put play at the heart of every child’s healthcare.
Through play, we transform children’s health by taking the scare out of healthcare.
Our vision
We want there to be a time when no child experiences trauma in healthcare.
Our mission is to put play at the heart of every child's healthcare.
Our purpose is to transform children's health through better healthcare experiences.
Our History
We do everything we can to protect childhood for seriously ill children. That’s been the case since 1986, when Emma Samms and Peter Samuelson founded Starlight. Emma had fundraised to help her young friend Sean, who had a brain tumour, visit Disneyland. She saw the impact that trip had not just on Sean, but on his whole family. Emma decided to set up a children’s charity so many more kids and families could feel the same way – and Starlight was born.
