Athletes for Hope works with several fantastic organizations who work within hospitals to help bring smiles to those who need it most. Many of our athletes have questions about what to expect at a hospital visit. The following will help you prepare for your visit.

EVENT DETAILS

Athletes for Hope will provide you with parking and day-of instructions prior to your visit. Once you arrive, please locate the specified hospital member. From there, that individual will explain what’s in store and help guide you through your visit. Each hospital has its own unique set of resources and therefore the activities you do can vary from one visit to the next. Unless otherwise specified, the hospital will take care of arranging these activities. If possible, please wear some of your sports gear so patients can easily identify you. Last but not least, have fun!

TALKING POINTS

In general, try to avoid asking patients how they are feeling, about their specific diagnosis or wishing them to feel better – some patients, unfortunately, may not be in a recovery situation. Rather, try to engage, distract and get them to open up about things they enjoy doing or are comfortable talking about with you.

• Hi, my name is _____, and I heard you were in the hospital so I wanted to stop by and say hi.
• What’s your name, and how old are you?
• What’s your favorite video game/movie/book?
• Do you play any sports or musical instruments or have any hobbies?
• Have you ever played [INSERT NAME OF YOUR SPORT]?
• I was in the hospital once and I thought it was really cool that ______.
• What do you like most about being in the hospital?

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT YOUR VISIT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Please like and follow Athletes for Hope on social media via Twitter (Ath4Hope), Facebook (AthletesForHope), Instagram (@AthletesForHope) or Snapchat (AthletesForHope). We would love to see how your visit went, so please tag us in your event photos and selfies! Please ensure you receive approval from the facility to post photos that you have taken while at your visit. There may be restrictions and it’s important that you abide by HIPAA and patient privacy standards.

As always, if you are still uncertain about scheduling a visit to a hospital, please feel free to get in touch with your point of contact at Athletes For Hope. We look forward to working with you!

Athletes for Hope works with various charities to help kids in hospitals have less stress and more activities to keep them busy. One of the organizations we work with is Starlight Children’s Hospitals. Starlight creates moments of joy and comfort for hospitalized kids and their families. For 35 years, Starlight’s programs have positively impacted more than 60 million critically, chronically and terminally ill or injured children in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. They don’t just work with us to coordinate athlete visits, they:

• Customize youth hospital gowns: Starlight Brave Gowns
• Build Starlight Fun Centers
• Coordinate Starlight VR experiences
• And much more….

Athletes can visit children at a children’s hospital or facility near them, distribute Brave Gowns, participate in activities with the kids at their bedside or in the hospital children’s playroom or even help build fun centers at local facilities. If you are interested in giving back to kids in the local hospital, contact us today!

Everyone, athletes and non-athletes, can support Starlight’s work by visiting www.starlight.org and by following Starlight on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

This holiday season, Athletes for Hope and Starlight Children’s Foundation invite our athletes to join us in brightening the lives of seriously ill children and their families. We’re partnering to bring laughter, fun and joy to critically, chronically and terminally children who are hospitalized during the holidays. Join us for any of the activities below to help us bring smiles to the faces of hospitalized children.

1. Give Back in Person

• Attend a holiday decorating party at your local children’s hospital and make it feel like home.
• Go room to room and help parents and hospital staff deliver toys, games, books and other fun surprises.
• Let a sick child challenge you in a variety of Nintendo Wii games, such as Mario Kart, Wii Sports or Madden Football at a Starlight Fun Center located in your local children’s hospital.

2. Give Back Virtually

• Send a message of encouragement to a hospitalized child online
• Make a special video to wish a child Happy Holidays. We will distribute the messages to their bedside.

To get involved, simply give us a call or email and we will send along next steps. Help us make the holidays special for seriously ill children and their families.