Founded in 2005 to serve children in the Rib Program having multiple surgeries per year in San Antonio. Our mission is to provide multifaceted support to pediatric patients and their families as they deal with spinal deformity, chest deformity and associated medical care. Although these patients and families are often, but not always, involved with the STTAR Center at Childrens’ Hospital of San Antonio, we welcome inquiries from individuals in any geographic area. We seek to:1. Support families with financial hardship by defraying costs related to travel and lodging in the course of receiving care2. Offer encouragement and morale-building to patients and parents, and connect these families with supportive peers who are also dealing with long-term, repetitive surgical care of complex medical conditions3. Underwrite ongoing research efforts aimed at improving the current concepts of best practices in pediatric spinal surgical care.4. Raise public awareness of the health care needs of pediatric spinal deformity patients with challenging co-existing medical issues