Uniondale, NY (March 3, 2015) – The New York Islanders are partnering with Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft lip and palate charity, with the goal of raising funds and awareness for the organization. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. when the team takes on the New York Rangers for the final regular season matchup between the two rivals at Nassau Coliseum. For each ticket sold, $2 will go directly to Smile Train.
During the first two periods, the Islanders will hold a 50/50 raffle with a portion of the proceeds going to Smile Train. Smile Train will also have a collection table located on the concourse offering information and giving fans the ability to make donations.
“In anticipation of the last Islanders/Rangers game of the season and the final game between these rival teams at the Coliseum, I am thrilled to drive awareness of Smile Train’s great work among Islanders fans,” Islanders Owner and Smile Train Founder and Chairman Charles Wang said. “Cleft is far more than a cosmetic issue, but also affects eating, breathing and speaking. It also prevents a child from fully participating in his or her community. Repair surgery is simple, and the impact is life-changing for children, families, communities and societies at large.”
“We are extremely grateful to the Islanders for embracing our work and sustainable approach to repair cleft. It has always been our goal to empower local doctors to perform surgery in their own communities, which multiplies our impact and reach/,” Smile Train CEO Susannah Schaefer said. “There is no greater feeling than watching a child’s joy when they see their new smile for the first time.”
Smile Train has long leveraged the talent and passion of athletes to raise support for its global work. Smile Train’s Team EMPOWER gives athletes across the world the opportunity to make every lap and mile of their race count toward providing free cleft repair surgery and related treatment to children in need. For more information about Team EMPOWER and to join the cause, please click here: http://smiletrain.org/athletics/.
Since its founding in 1999, Smile Train has provided more than one million cleft repair surgeries across the world. The organization’s “teach a man to fish” training model empowers local doctors to provide 100%-free, safe and high-quality surgery in their own communities, enabling Smile Train to reach more than 350 patients each day.
About Smile Train:
Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Millions of children in developing countries with unrepaired clefts live in shame, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Smile Train’s sustainable model provides training and funding to empower local doctors in 85+ developing countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery in their own communities. To learn more about how Smile Train’s sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit http://www.smiletrain.org/.
