Project Description:
Purpose:
The purpose of Project Sunshine at Texas A&M University is to provide free programs and services to children with long-term illnesses, disabilties, and special needs in the Brazos Valley area. Project Sunshine members volunteer to provide fun activities for the children and support for their families. Our main goal is to provide friendship while bringing a smile to the kids' faces.
Year Founded:
Fall 1999
Membership Dues:
$60 per semester, $35 for the second semester if returning member
Admits Members:
Sept. and Jan.
Meeting Locations:
Rudder Tower
News Article in the Eagle:
A Texas A&M organization is on the lookout for families who need its help.
Project Sunshine, a nonprofit organization, provides events and programs for children with special needs and severe illnesses -- and their siblings -- in Bryan-College Station at no cost. With many student volunteers, the group is seeking families in the area that could use their services.
In 1998, Project Sunshine was founded in New York City by Joseph Weilgus while he was a student at Yeshiva University. The multinational organization has since grown to more than 15,000 volunteers and serves more than 100,000 children each year, according to Project Sunshine's website.
The A&M chapter of Project Sunshine opened in 1999 and is one of 61 colleges and universities to host the program.
At the local level, Kathleen Seunsom, a junior at A&M and the assistant director of Project Sunshine, said the organization has nearly 200 members and serves about 50 families in the Brazos Valley each year.
The families are able to drop their children off with the volunteers for about two hours at different times of the month for planned events and programs, including picnics, movie nights, trips to the zoo and Santa's Wonderland. Seunsom said it is not only fun for the children, but beneficial to the parents as well.
"It gives parents time to rest," she said. "It gives them time for themselves."
In addition to events, the organization provides optional programs, including Challenger Sports, a recreational sports league for special needs individuals and the Buddy Program, where a member is paired with a child and their family for weekly visits.
With so many volunteers, A&M senior Andrea Scott, the director of Project Sunshine, said the program is looking for more families to serve.
"We're trying to target families who are new to the area, or those who just want to get out and do something," she said. "We want to work with as many people as we can. We have a lot of volunteers to offer."
While volunteers are only able to join once a semester, Scott said families can join at any time by filling out an application located on the group's website. Children ages 3 years and older are welcome and families can participate in as many events as they like, she said.
Seunsom added that volunteers go through an interview process and are trained to work with children with special needs.
For more information about Project Sunshine, visit projectsunshine.tamu.edu/node/6.
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County, Mulit-County, State
