LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Starlight
Children's Foundation and Star Wars: Force for Change are
joining together to bring joy and comfort to children by delivering
more than 65,000 new Star Wars-themed Starlight Brave Gowns
to kids at hospitals and healthcare facilities across the US. The
new gowns replace traditional children's hospital gowns with
high-quality, comfortable and brightly colored ones that
depict pediatric patients' favorite Star
Wars characters.
The new line of Starlight Brave Gowns are part of the
collaboration between Starlight, Star Wars: Force for
Change, Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company which
was announced in April 2017.
Through a generous $1 million grant
from Star Wars: Force for Change and Disney, this
collaboration supports Starlight's core programs including
Starlight Brave Gowns and the launch of Starlight Virtual Reality
in 2018 as the program's Founding Sponsor. Additional funding for
the gowns was provided by individual donations raised from Star
Wars fans who participated in the Star Wars: Force for
Change fundraising campaign this past spring.
"We hope that these gowns will allow kids in hospitals to draw a
bit of strength from the Force," says Lynwen Brennan,
General Manager at Lucasfilm. "We are so grateful that
Starlight and our generous fans have helped make it possible to
pull off such an amazing effort through Force for
Change."
The deliveries officially kicked off with a special event at
CHOC Children's Hospital on October
5. In celebration of the new Starlight Brave Gowns featuring
the iconic characters of Darth
Vader, Chewbacca and R2-D2, there were room-to-room visits
with Star Wars characters as well as fun activities such as
Force training for young Jedi, an interactive reading corner in
celebration of "Star Wars Reads" month, gift giveaways and
arts and crafts.
"We're excited to see the smiles on thousands of hospitalized
kids' faces as they experience the joy and comfort that these new
Star Wars-themed Starlight Brave Gowns will bring them,"
said Chris Helfrich, CEO of
Starlight Children's Foundation. "We are honored to have the
support of Star Wars: Force for Change to help transform
these sick kids into their favorite Star Wars
character."
The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm's parent organization, is a
longtime supporter of children's hospitals and of Starlight
Children's Foundation. Visit starlight.org to learn more about
Starlight Brave Gowns and donate $25
to give a gown to a hospitalized child in need today.
Media Contacts:
Lauren Kenyon, APA PR for
Starlight Children's Foundation: lkenyon@apa-pr.com,
424.285.2666
Chris de Haan, Starlight Children's
Foundation: chris.dehaan@starlight.org, 213.309.1867
ABOUT STARLIGHT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
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. With your help,
more kids and their families will enjoy Starlight Brave Gowns,
Starlight Fun Centers and other Starlight programs at a children's
hospital or facility near you. Support Starlight's work by
visiting www.starlight.org and by following Starlight on
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
ABOUT STAR WARS: FORCE FOR CHANGE
Star
Wars: Force for Change, a charitable initiative from Lucasfilm
and Disney, harnesses the strength of Star Wars to empower
and improve the lives of children around the world. Since 2014, it
was inspired by Star Wars fans, and the countless hours they
have dedicated to philanthropy over the past four decades. To date,
over $16 million has been raised for
charitable causes around the world on behalf of Star Wars: Force
for Change. With a bright future ahead, and new Star
Wars stories to be told, Force for Change aims to
continue collaborating with causes and encouraging others to be
forces for change in their own community. To learn more, please
visit ForceForChange.com.
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SOURCE Starlight Children's Foundation