Nashville Predators players J.P. Dumont, left, and Jason Arnott sign autographs for patient Christian Magdalena during a recent visit to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. (photo by John Russell)
Upcoming Predators games to benefit Children’s Hospital
Patient El-jhari Denning and his mother, Claudeen Bryant, got a visit recently from Nashville Predators mascot Gnash. (photo by Frederick Breedon)
The Nashville Predators may be fierce on the ice, but when it comes to the patients at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, they are all heart.
The National Hockey League team has selected two games this season to dedicate as fundraisers for Children's Hospital. For the games on Dec. 6 and Feb. 19, 2009, 25 percent of all single-ticket sales will be donated to Children's Hospital.
“The Predators have always been great supporters of our patients and families, with regular visits to the hospital and special passes for many of our patients. This generous gift means a lot and will support many of our programs,” said Kevin Churchwell, M.D., CEO of Children's Hospital.
It is expected that proceeds from the ticket sales will net $100,000 for the hospital. Predators' managers say they plan to make this an annual effort.
“These benefit nights are a natural fit for our partnership with Vanderbilt Medical Center,” said Ed Lang, president of business operations for the Predators.
“Our entire organization — especially the players — sees the value in and enjoys working with the Children's Hospital. Because of this, we want to do our part to ensure the resources are available for the finest care of these young patients.”
The team brings top players and mascot Gnash to the hospital several times a year, but individual players take things a step further. J.P. Dumont, for example, reserves a suite for every home game to be used by up to 16 patients from the hospital, and their families, who might not otherwise have an opportunity to see a live hockey game.
“It is heart breaking that many of these kids have to worry about life-threatening conditions instead of living the carefree childhood so many others have,” Dumont said.
“As a professional athlete I feel it is important to give back to the community that supports us, and this is one way I can bring a little joy to some kids going through a difficult time in their lives. There is nothing better than seeing one of those kids smile.”
You can see the Nashville Predators players on the Medical Center campus during the first week of December to help promote ticket sales for the benefit games. For more information, go to www.nashvillepredators.com/vanderbilt.