Plainview, NY (July 7, 2010) – Several members of the Long Island Rough Riders Women’s team visited the Child Life Program at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, June 29, the day before the facility officially opened.  The players took part in recreational and educational activities with the young patients, bringing smiles to the faces of everyone involved.

“Seeing the joy on the children’s faces during such a difficult period in their lives is a feeling that I will never forget,” Rough Rider President Peter Zaratin said. “We are glad that our team could help make such a positive impact on them.”

The Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital is the first of its kind east of the Queens/Nassau County border. It will be funded through a mixture of grants and gifts totaling $80 million, which will go towards hiring new faculty and covering new construction.

Rough Rider teammates Ariana Aston, Kimberly DeCesare, Brittany Henderson, Joanne McLaughlin, Amanda Reverberi, Stephanie Tanzi, and Sue Weber visited the Outpatient Oncology, Pediatric, and Patient Units at the facility. They played soccer with the children, who were escorted by Child Life specialists Lauren Sharaby and Michael Attard.

“I think that the staff really enjoyed themselves, so I can only imagine how much fun the children and their parents had,” David Harris, Data Manager at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital, said. “It makes a great impact upon the quality of their experience here at Stony Brook, and for that I can’t thank the Rough Riders enough.”

The Long Island Rough Riders always strive to make a difference in their local community, and helping out at Child Life is one of numerous events the team plans on participating in this summer.