Three Cheers for the Home Team, Pro Sports Team Makes a Big Hit with Pediatric Patients
Long Island Ducks Visit Stony Brook Children’s Hospital for the Holidays
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| Long Island Ducks team mascot QuackerJack and co-owner, Bud Harrelson, along with radio personalities ‘The Wiseman’ and ‘Frank’ from B103, brought unwrapped toys to the patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on December 17, just in time for the holidays. 11-year-old Taylor Havilk of Holbrook, a huge baseball fan, was excited to meet the local team. |
STONY BROOK, N.Y., December 18, 2013 – Long Island’s very own professional baseball team, the Long Island Ducks, were a big hit with patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital during a special visit for the holidays. Former New York Met Bud Harrelson, co-owner and Senior VP of Baseball Operations of the Ducks was joined by team mascot QuackerJack and radio station B103’s The Wiseman and Frank.
QuackerJack, flopped his way around the whole inpatient pediatric unit at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on December 17, bringing wrapped toys to hospitalized patients. Autographs were signed, photos were snapped and there were even a few glimpses of Harrelson’s 1986 World Championship ring, which he received while playing for the Mets.
The visit was part of the Ducks’ annual Holiday Toy Drive, where QuackerJack and team members deliver toys to children in pediatric units in hospitals across Long Island. The month-long effort resulted in hundreds of children receiving toys this holiday season.
Popular to thousands of families on Long Island, the Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play locally at Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip.
About Stony Brook Children’s Hospital:
Established in June 2010, Stony Brook 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 140 full-time pediatric physicians and surgeons in 30 different specialties and over 200 voluntary pediatric faculty members. 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.
