Miss Teen Maryland’s Fun Center dedication!

On Wednesday, March 25th we gathered for the Wii Fun Center dedication at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. Brittany Sullivan who is Miss Teen Maryland and our Teen Ambassador raised $$ for a Wii Fun Center to be placed at Shady Grove Hospital in honor of her grandfather, who recently passed away.  We had a big turnout of people, many who had supported Brittany in her fundraising.  The Kiwanis, Rotary Club, the Gazette, and Fox News and many of Brittany’s family members came out to support her wonderful philanthropic work!  One of the pediatric patients, Jack, even got to try out the Fun Center and demonstrate his Wii expertise.  It was a great day, and we applaud Brittany on her great work.  She is only about $500 away from raising enough for another Fun Center!  Check out the video from the Gazette  and the pictures!

 

http://www.gazette.net/stories/03262009/montnew161607_32487.shtml 

Brittany talking about why she donated the Fun Center to Shady Grove!

Fun Center Dedicaton Party at Children’s National!

 

Kathleen Thompson, Hope, Katie Strumpf, Deborah Bartlett and with one of the new Fun Centers!

It was certainly an occasion to celebrate yesterday at Children’s National in Washington, D.C.-the dedication of 4 Wii Fun Centers donated by CBRE!  The staff at Children’s National was thrilled to be the recipient of these wonderful Wiis Fun Centers, and the pediatric patients couldn’t agree more.  The dedication party began with speeches by Brenda Shephard-Vernon, the Director of Family Services who spoke about how much the Wii Fun Centers help the kids at CNMC.  As a representative of Starlight MidAtlantic, Katie Strumpf then spoke about the organization and the great work we do, and told us a bit more about the Fun Centers.  Last but most certainly not least, we heard from Kathleen Thompson, who told us about CBRE, and how they were so excited to bring fun through the Wii Fun Centers to the hospital.  Kathleen and Brady (see photo below) cut the ribbon on the Fun Centers, and we could finally play some games!  The kids were so busy teaching the adults how to play, that we almost forgot to eat the cake:)  It was truly a fun day, and we have CBRE to thank!

 

Cutting the red ribbon!

Starlight Child Raises Funds for Fellow Starlight Kids!

My son Dalton had his Bar Mitzvah October of 2007. Part of becoming a Bar Mitzvah is to participate in a charity that is near to your heart. Dalton wanted his charity to enhance the lives of kids like him, dealing with cancer and chemo. Being a patient at Georgetown Hospital, Dalton has spent TOO many days confined to a hospital bed, bored out of his mind.

Dalton noticed that the self contained entertainment Funcenter he had played with while at Georgetown had a Starlight logo on it. He contacted the child life specialist on the floor, Linda Jung and inquired about the affiliation. Linda explained that Starlight obtains the units for the hospital. That was the solution to the charity Dalton would choose – collect money to get a new Funcenter for the hospital – one with a Wii system and updated games.

When Dalton presented this quest to us, we thought the idea was wonderful – being able to help so many children – many he knows first hand. We contacted the Starlight Foundation and were a bit overwhelmed to learn that the center cost over $4000. Dalton is very ambitious and did not blink at the amount -”I can do it “.

Our local newspaper publicized Dalton’s quest and with the help of many friends, family and strangers Dalton met his goal of $4250. But, the donations kept rolling in, and after three months, Dalton collected over $8400 – enough to get TWO Funcenters for the hospital.

After a long wait, the Funcenters finally arrived at Georgetown. They were officially presented earlier this month with a small ceremony which included hospital staff, patients and Dalton.

The label on the side of each system reads; “ENJOY, LAUGH, HAVE FUN”.

We hope the systems bring joy to many children and hope they alleviate some of the boredom.

-Bari, Bill, Zach and Dalton Gulsby