Early one morning after a severe storm, a man was walking along the beach when he saw a young boy, dancing to the day in the distance.  As the man approached the boy, he saw that the boy was not dancing after all, but instead was time and again reaching down to the sand, picking up a starfish and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

The man felt it his duty to point out the obvious.  “Son, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of stranded starfish on  this beach?  There are too many; you can’t possibly make a difference.”  After pondering this statement for a moment, the young boy bent down, picked up another starfish and gently placed it into the sea.  He looked up at the man and said, “ It makes a difference to this one.”

adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley

The Starfish Promise Coalition exists under the auspices of Project Starfish Inc., which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded through community support, donations, and grants.  Since its inception, the Starfish Promise Coalition has provided a platform for organizations in the community to work together for the implementation of asset-based services and programs for youth, focusing on the following risk factors prevalent in Gem County: