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Help Us Brighten the Holidays for Sick Children

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Help Us Brighten the Holidays for Sick Children

Posted: Updated: by Brooke McMillan

The magic of the holidays can be seen on the faces of kids everywhere, but many children will miss out because they are spending the holiday season in a hospital room. Athletes for Hope wants to help make their time getting better a little brighter, but we need your help!

In partnership with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, AFH helps professional, Olympic, and college athletes visit children in hospitals in cities throughout the United States. With your support, AFH will have the opportunity to ramp up its efforts to positively impact the lives of countless additional children who are stuck in hospitals this holiday season. No donation is too small and dollar makes a difference. DOnations can be made via our website: www.athletesforhope.org/donate.

Thank you for your support,

Athletes for Hope

Detroit Lions Bring Joy to Children’s Hospital

Posted: Updated: by Brooke McMillan

Making kids smile! What could be a better mission than that? That’s exactly what the Detroit Lions players set out to do this week at St. John’s Children’s Hospital. Teammates Nick Bawden, Leo Koloamatangi , Trevor Bates, Jamil Demby, Brandon Powell spent the afternoon playing with the kids in the Children’s Play Room and walking room to room to meet with kids who were unable to leave their beds. A visit from an NFL Football player can really make the day of a child too sick to play and go to school. We thank the Lions players for giving back to the Detroit community.

When an athlete wants to make a hospital visit and they call Athletes for Hope they are often connected to a children’s hospital in the Starlight Children’s Foundation network. Starlight Children’s works within hospitals to bring moments of joy and comfort to hospitalized children and their families. They do this through several programs that provide crafts and games, fun and soft character gowns, playground equipment and fun toys within the hospital setting and now through a new program called Starlight Xperience. This virtual reality experience transports hospitalized kids virtually anywhere.

Athletes for Hope is a proud partner of Starlight Children’s Foundation and we hope to connect even more athletes to kids in hospitals all over the country. If you are an athlete and are interested in this opportunity, please contact our team. We will be glad to make a connection for you!

AFH Presents at Senior Bowl

Posted: by bsanchez

On January 26th, CEO Ivan Blumberg led a 1.0 workshop with a group of over 100 collegiate players from across the U.S. participating in the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl. The players were eager to learn how they can utilize their platforms to make a difference in their perspective communities. After sharing perspectives on each exercise, the players agreed they all had an opportunity to make a difference regardless how well known of an athlete they may be. Their theory was put into action as they all received charitable opportunities at various organizations in Mobile, Alabama following our workshop. The Starlight Children’s Foundation hosted a group of players at U.S. Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Players engaged with children during room visits and passed out autographed footballs.

Athletes for Hope Athletes Help to Distribute 20,000 Brave Gowns

Posted: Updated: by bsanchez

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Starlight Children’s Foundation – an organization whose mission is to bring joy and comfort to hospitalized children and their families. Hospital gowns can be a scary and uncomfortable experience for kids. The Starlight Brave Gowns program replaces uncomfortable hospital garments with high-quality, comfortable and brightly colored gowns. The gowns transform children into astronauts, princesses, cowboys, and other characters so they can have fun and enjoy being kids.

Athletes for Hope is teaming up with Starlight to distribute 100,000 Starlight Brave Gowns to hospitals across the U.S. Our first official Brave Gowns campaign launched on July 17th and our connections have not gone unnoticed as millions of people have seen news coverage of the campaign. A few highlights include:

    • Jake Butt and Dymonte Thomas of the Denver Broncos and Professional Soccer player Jordan Angeli visited Denver Health (CO)
    • Alex Carlson, Jamie Sinclair, and Monica Walker of the USA Curling team visited Children’s Hospital of Minnesota (MN)
    • Stevie Tu’ikolovatu of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital (FL)
    • Brett Nicholas and Drew Robinson of the Texas Rangers and Professional Soccer player Melissa Henderson visited Cook Children’s Hospital (TX)
    • Seattle Reign FC visited Valley Memorial Hospital (WA)
    • US National Women’s Soccer player, Alyssa Naeher, NFL player Kyle Prater and Will Hampton visited Comers Children’s Hospital (IL)

We invite you to follow these stories and visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to learn more about these athletes/charity connections.

If you are interested in bringing a Brave Gowns distribution to a hospital near you, please reach out to us via email at contact@athletesforhope.org.

Thank you for your continued support,

The AFH Staff

Athletes for Hope Teams Up With Starlight Children’s Foundation to Deliver 100,000 Starlight Brave Gowns

Posted: Updated: by bsanchez

Starlight Children’s Foundation, announces its first major distribution of 100,000 Starlight Brave Gowns to hundreds of Starlight partner hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country, in partnership with Athletes for Hope whose member athletes will help deliver Brave Gowns to pediatric patients throughout the U.S. Created with children in mind, Starlight Brave Gowns bring smiles to hospitalized children by transforming drab, uncomfortable and embarrassing hospital garments into fun, comfy and colorful gowns that help sick kids feel like superstars.

Thanks to individual donations and a one-for-one matching grant provided by Niagara Cares, Starlight and Athletes for Hope will deliver the first 20,000 gowns this week featuring designs created by Michaels, the program’s official launch partner, with an additional 80,000 gowns bringing smiles to pediatric patients throughout the summer and into the fall.

Athletes for Hope is launching its new partnership with Starlight by teaming athletes up with the charity for special deliveries and visits. More than 60 athletes have signed on to help Starlight donate Starlight Brave Gowns to children in hospitals from coast to coast. Athletes include Carl Edwards, Jr. of the Chicago Cubs, Vince Biegel of the Green Bay Packers, new Seattle Seahawk Eric Pocic, Steven Wright of the Boston Red Sox, racing phenom Rob Megennis and current Portland Thorns and US Women’s National Soccer team defender Meghan Klingenberg, among others.

Michaels Stores is the program’s official launch partner and created the inaugural designs for Starlight Brave Gowns. Featuring creative designs and cool characters, Starlight Brave Gowns tie on the side, not down the back, with hospital-approved snaps on both sleeves for easy IV and chest port access. Current Michaels designs include an astronaut, princess, an explorer, a cowboy and many more, with additional designs arriving in hospitals later this year. Best of all, kids love them.

An upcoming special event in Los Angeles will be held to celebrate the program with the support of Michaels and a celebrity visit from actress Alyson Hannigan and her family. Additional funding is provided by Niagara Cares for research and continuing development of the groundbreaking program. Visit starlight.org to learn more about Starlight Brave Gowns and donate $25 to give a gown to a hospitalized child in need today.

Follow along on Twitter (@Ath4Hope) and (Instagram) as we highlight our athlete hospital visits and go to starlight.org to learn more about Starlight Brave Gowns and donate $25 to give a gown to a hospitalized child in need today.