Suffolk County school district representatives and volunteers who fundraise for “Change for Children” present a check for $35,000 to Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. Standing, left to right, are Mary Magee of Blue Point Elementary School; Linda Chase of Mt. Sinai Elementary School; Kathy Connor of Merrimac Elementary School; Kristen Poulos of Edna Louise Spear Elementary School; Natalie Zaino, Sachem Lead Nurse; Brandon Roslak of Sachem High School East; Fred Sganga, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Stony Brook University Hospital; Joe Zito of Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School; Linda Arnold of Blue Point Elementary School; and Gia O'Connor of Lynwood Elementary School. Seated are, left to right, Christina Burns, Change for Children volunteer; Debra Grimm MS, RN, Associate Director of Nursing and Administrator for Stony Brook Children’s; and Elizabeth Eghrari, Change for Children volunteer.

STONY BROOK, N.Y., June 26, 2012 – Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital received a check for $35,000 on June 19 from Suffolk County school district representatives and volunteers who fundraise for “Change for Children.” The check represents proceeds from the 2012 Change for Children initiative, which aims to encourage students at Long Island schools to show their support for pediatric patients at Suffolk County’s only children’s hospital by collecting spare change from friends and family members.

The $35,000 in contributions will be matched by an anonymous donor, for a total donation of $70,000. This year’s Change for Children initiative was led by a group of Children’s Hospital Task Force volunteers, including Jennifer Ancona, Janine DeSimone, Ellen Gaffney, Theodora Pellicane, Christina Burns and Elizabeth Eghrari.

The task force was organized in October 2009 to raise funds and awareness for Stony Brook Children’s. The Change for Children initiative is co-sponsored by the Suffolk County School Nurses Association and the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

“We are very grateful for the contributions of students, the support of the school nurses and superintendents, and the leadership of a highly dedicated group of volunteers,” said Margaret M. McGovern, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief, Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital. “Their efforts will help improve healthcare for children across Suffolk County and Long Island who come to Stony Brook Children’s for their care.”

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About Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital:
Established in June 2010, Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital is Suffolk County’s only children’s hospital. More than 7,000 children and adolescents are admitted each year. Stony Brook Children’s operates 100 pediatric beds and has more than 100 full-time pediatric physicians and surgeons and over 200 voluntary pediatric faculty members in 30 different specialties. The hospital is the Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center for our area and has a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is home to the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center and also offers a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program, Pediatric Cardiology Program, Pediatric HIV and AIDS Center, Cystic Fibrosis Center and the Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookchildrens.org.