NEW YORK, NY – The Islanders Children’s Foundation is proud to announce that the New York Islanders have teamed up with Starlight Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering happiness to seriously ill children and their families, to spark joy in patients at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens.
Through donations from the sales of the 50-50 fundraising raffle – during a December home game – and a generous match from the Islanders Children’s Foundation, a Starlight Gaming Station and a Handheld unit along with co-branded Starlight Hospital Gowns were placed at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, a longtime hospital partner of the Islanders and the nonprofit.
To help deliver Starlight Gaming and Hospital Gowns on behalf of the Islanders, Sparky the Dragon dropped by and presented the gifts to the child life team at Cohen Children’s.
“We know how overwhelming a hospital stay can be for a child. From the moment a child arrives, we want them feeling comfortable and being able to do activities that will keep their minds off their diagnosis,” said Ann Rina, senior director of community relations. “The hospital gowns are comfortable and are much more cheerful than the traditional hospital gown, while the gaming units provide children with a distraction and allow them to stay connected to family and friends by playing online, bringing a little normalcy back into their lives.”
Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation, said, “We’re honored and grateful to have the New York Islanders as a partner in helping us deliver our state-of-the-art programs that entertain and distract kids coping with serious illness. Starlight Gaming and Starlight Hospital Gowns will help bring smiles to many young patients and their families, especially the youngest fans being cared for at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.”
For over 40 years, Starlight Children’s Foundation has delivered happiness to over 21 million seriously ill children and their families by helping normalize hospital experiences through its programs that provide imaginative play, game-based learning, and modernized, comfortable hospital gowns – designed to allow easier access for medical procedures with more privacy. These programs – including Starlight Gaming, Starlight Hospital Wear, Starlight Virtual Reality, and more – are offered across 800 U.S. children’s hospitals, like Cohen Children’s, to help sick kids heal and thrive.
“A hospital can be a really scary place for children but allowing for kids to play and take a break from medical care is critically important to the healing process,” said Carolyn Quinn, executive director of Cohen Children’s Medical Center. “Allowing kids to be kids is just as important to the healing process as any medicine or other therapy. We are extremely grateful to The Islanders and Starlight Children’s Foundations for providing Starlight Gaming units and Islanders-themed Starlight Hospital Gowns and to allow the children that we care for to take a break from being a patient and just be a kid.”
In 2020, the Isles became the first NHL team to participate in Starlight Children’s Foundation hospital gown program, with co-branded gowns distributed to New York and Long Island-area children’s hospitals.
To learn more about the Starlight Children’s Foundation, please visit starlight.org.
