We’re glad you’re here!

A group of diverse smiling people standing in a circle outdoors with a bright green leafy background, reaching inwards with their hands to form a star shape in the center.

About Starfish Ministries

A Foster Care Nonprofit Serving Central Louisiana

At Starfish Ministries of Cenla, a foster care nonprofit serving Central Louisiana, we believe every child deserves safety, stability, love, and opportunity.

Our mission is simple but deeply personal: To redefine the future for children in foster care.

Our vision is to see children, youth, and families thrive in safe, loving, and supportive communities.

be a part of our mission →

it matters to the one!

Starfish Ministries was founded from a deep calling to step into the gaps that vulnerable children and families face every day. Through firsthand experience with foster care, trauma, crisis response, and community outreach, we saw the need for more than temporary help. Families needed support. Children needed stability. Foster parents needed encouragement. Youth needed someone to believe in them. Most of all, people needed hope.

What began as a heart to help “the one” has grown into a ministry dedicated to walking alongside children, youth, and families during some of the hardest and most important seasons of their lives. We understand the exhaustion foster families can feel, the uncertainty children in care experience, and the emotional weight that can come with trauma, transition, and instability. Because of that, our work is built around compassion, connection, practical support, and meaningful relationships.

Through foster-family support, youth programming, mentorship, resources, community partnerships, and opportunities for growth and connection, we work to help children and families move from survival toward stability, hope, and a stronger future.

Window sign advertising Starfish Bookshop + Coffee with starfish illustrations and a starfish graphic above the shop name.

A woman and a young girl sitting on the floor together, both smiling and laughing joyfully, in a cozy living room with a striped sofa and a rug in the background.

it matters to the one!

Why the name Starfish?

The heart behind our name comes from the story of a little boy throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean one by one. When someone told him he could never make a difference to them all, he picked up another starfish, threw it into the water, and replied, “It mattered to that one.”

That is the heartbeat of everything we do. Because to the child who feels seen, the teen who discovers purpose, the foster parent who feels supported, or the family who finds hope again — it matters.

Outline drawing of a starfish with dotted and solid lines, on a black background.

Group of people standing outside a house on a sidewalk, with trees and bushes in the background.

Our Connection to 
Healing Homes

Healing Homes of Cenla grew from the same need that has shaped the work of Starfish Ministries from the beginning: children in foster care need more than a placement — they need stability, relationships, support, and people who continue showing up.

As Starfish encountered children whose needs could not always be met within traditional foster placements, the vision expanded. Healing Homes of Cenla was created to provide residential stabilization homes for youth who need a safe, consistent place to land and the time and support necessary to begin moving forward.

One Mission. Two Organizations. One Purpose.

Two young girls jumping and playing on a sidewalk in a park, reaching towards the trees above them.

Healing Homes provides the home, structure, and day-to-day residential care. Starfish Ministries helps surround the children living there with community, resources, volunteers, enrichment, relationships, and opportunities for growth.

That means when you support Starfish Ministries, the children living in Healing Homes are also among the children you are helping us show up for.

Healing Homes provides the placement. Starfish provides the presence.

Together, we are working toward the same goal: helping children in foster care experience stability, connection, hope, and the opportunity to thrive.

Learn more about healing homes →

Decorative sign with a coffee cup illustration and the words 'Good days start with coffee & Jesus,' surrounded by starfish and starfish-like shapes on a dark background.

Close-up of a young person's face with curly brown hair, smiling with visible white teeth, and someone touching their chin.

Stories about the impact of Starfish Ministries of Cenla

From community partnerships to stories of impact, explore new articles and media features that share the heart of Starfish Ministries and the work happening across Central Louisiana.

The work of Starfish Ministries is made possible through the support of a caring community. Over the years, our programs, partnerships, and impact have been highlighted through local news stories, interviews, community features, and other media coverage.

Explore past articles and features that share more about our mission, the needs facing children and families impacted by foster care, and the ways our community continues to come together to make a difference across Central Louisiana.