The Sunshine Kids Foundation is a non-profit organization established in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 1982 that provides a variety of free programs and events for children who are receiving

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

treatments in hospitals across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Since 2001, the executive director of the Sunshine Kids Foundation has been actor

G.W. Bailey George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series 1979–198 ...

, who has volunteered with the group for over fifteen years since being introduced to the organization by his goddaughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1982. In 2004, the group had a total revenue of over $1.9 million, and spent nearly $1.3 million on program expenses. The best-known supporters of The Sunshine Kids are Bailey and retired

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

legend

Craig Biggio Craig Alan Biggio (; born December 14, 1965) is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) All ...

, who has been the organization's national spokesperson for more than 10 years. He wore a Sunshine Kids pin on his hat during

Spring Training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

for over 15 years, the majority of his career. It also appeared on his '3000 hits' banner when he reached the historic milestone during his final season.

References

#"The Sunshine Kids" (Available: 30 January 2006

#"Charity Navigator Rating - The Sunshine Kids Foundation" (Available: 30 January 2006

External links

Official web site of The Sunshine Kids
Children's charities based in the United States Cancer charities in the United States Charities based in Texas Medical and health organizations based in Texas {{Charity-org-stub