SailMiraclesSt
Sailing World and Sperry Top-Sider have announced that the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY, will be the recipient of the Sailing for Miracles program during the Larchmont stop of the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta, September 8-9, hosted by the Larchmont Yacht Club. Sailing for Miracles is an organization created to raise awareness within the sport of sailing and to encourage giving back to the local community, through donations and fund-raising efforts at the event. “The partnership with Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital will be our fourth such collaboration,” said Karen Pitts, Vice President of Marketing at Sperry Top-Sider. “Sailing for Miracles and sailors at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas have generated funds for All Children’s Hospital, during the St. Petersburg regatta; for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, based in Baltimore, Md., during the Annapolis regatta and for Children’s Memorial Hospital during the Chicago NOOD.”All sailors participating in the Larchmont NOOD who make a donation of $50 or more will be given an exclusively designed Sailing for Miracles burgee, donated by Sperry Top-Sider and Sailing World. Boats flying the burgees during the event will be eligible to be randomly chosen as the “Sperry Top-Sider Boat of the Day.” A boat will be selected on each race day for this honor, and all the members of that boat’s crew will win a free pair of Sperry Top-Sider footwear.The Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, just outside of Larchmont, is recognized as a world-class facility that provides advanced, life-saving pediatric care and is a resource to the families of over 1 million children in the Hudson Valley region. With the support and philanthropy of the local sailing community, corporations, foundations, schools, and individuals, the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is able to provide care to their patients and their families every year. “We are honored to have been selected as this year’s recipient of the Sailing for Miracles program,” said Dr. Michael Gewitz, Executive Director and Physician-in-Chief at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. “The support and generosity of organizations such as Sperry Top-Sider and Sailing World continue to allow us to provide world class medical care to over 25,000 children in this region and beyond every year.”The 2007 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas will sail next into Houston, TX, Sept. 21-23. Additional venues for 2007 include Annapolis, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Detroit, Mich.; Chicago, Ill.; San Diego, Calif.; Toronto, Ont., Canada; and St. Petersburg, Fla.Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOODs attract close to 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually. Each event in the series features sailboat racing for one-design models from 20 to 70 feet in length. In addition to local sailors, sailing’s top stars – including America’s Cup and Olympic champions – are well-represented at the NOODs. Competitive sailors rate the NOODs as the top national event in each region of the country.Sperry Top-Sider is the national title sponsor of the 2007 Larchmont NOOD which is presented by Sailing World and Mount Gay Rum. Support sponsors who will join the event include Gill, Sunsail, North Sails, Budweiser Select, and the Active Network.For more information on the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas go to www.sailingworld.com.About Sperry Top-Sider Since 1935, Sperry Top-Sider has been the leading brand of footwear for those who love the water. From its introduction of the world’s first siped rubber outsole for non-marking traction, to advanced technical fabrication to combat the elements, Sperry Top-Sider remains the vanguard of high-performance amphibious footwear and apparel. Available around the globe in fine independent, marine, outdoor and department stores, Sperry Top-Sider is the official footwear of US SAILING, and is also worn by members of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Navy SEALs. Based in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, Sperry Top-Sider supports a wide-range of water-related activities through its many sponsorships, including ACURA Key West 2007, the Adopt-A-Billfish Foundation, National Safe Boating Council, Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas and countless others. Sperry Top-Sider is a division of the Stride Rite Corporation (NYSE:SRR). For more information, please visit www.sperrytopsider.com.About Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical CenterAs the leader in pediatric care and an advocate for children’s health, Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center is the only all specialty children’s hospital in the Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County Connecticut. With hundreds of clinical and surgical specialists in almost every medical field, the entire hospital is dedicated to the health and well-being of children-treating more than 25,000 patients each year. From pediatric trauma, intensive care, cancer and heart disease-this clinical expertise is provided under the spired roof of a state of-the-art building that was designed from the point of view of children and their families, not just from the perspective of doctors and nurses. This concept is the cornerstone of a new approach in providing healthcare for children called “family-centered care”-involving parents, siblings and family members in a child’s treatment. This specially created environment enables medical specialists to provide the most advanced care to patients.
