Islanders Donate 1,000 Starlight Gowns to Children's Hospitals

No one wants to be in a hospital, let alone for an extended stay.
That goes double for kids, where the hospital can seem like an intimidating place, even with the tremendous, attentive care of doctors and nurses.

Sometimes, it's the little things that help children cope with hospital stays, which is why the Islanders are teaming up with Starlight Children's Foundation to deliver 1,000 Isles-themed hospital gowns to pediatric patients.
The Starlight Gowns feature the Islanders logo and colors, but there's a more practical purpose than just aesthetics and an outlet for representing the team. Starlight Gowns are a softer and more comfortable alternative to traditional hospital gowns and are designed to be tied down at the side, instead of an open back, replacing the feeling of vulnerability with security.

"A hospital can be a really scary place for patients, they don't know what's going on," said Danielle Young, Child Life Specialist. "But to have something that's familiar to them, for example one of their favorite hockey teams coming in and providing a beautiful gesture, it makes it a little less scary and a little more fun."
Startlight Gowns designs - which feature everything from superheroes to now the Isles - are intended to help lift the spirits of kids experiencing hardship and provide a connection to the things they love.
"It's really fun for the patients," Young said. "They dealt with Disney and got to pick their favorite character. Now we have the Islanders here, so they get to wear their favorite team."

The Islanders delivered the first batch of gowns to Cohen Children's Medical Center on Monday, one of the sites of the Isles holiday hospital visits. Sparky the Dragon was also on hand to deliver Islanders playoff t-shirts, rally towels and special souvenir playoff pucks for the kids.
Gowns will be delivered to New York and Long Island-area hospitals including:
• Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York
• Northwell Health - Center for Advanced Medicine in New Hyde Park
• Lennox Hill Hospital - New York, NY
• North Shore University Hospital - Manhasset, NY

Starlight Gowns are just one of many initiatives created by the Starlight Children's Foundation, who have impacted 16 million kids at more than 800 children's hospitals across the US. Since 2016, the program has already provided more than 250,000 Starlight Gowns to hospitalized children across the United States.
To learn more about Starlight Gowns, or to donate a Starlight Gown for just $25, please visit
www.starlight.org
.
To learn more about the Islanders Children's Foundation,
click here
.