Westchester Warriors Hockey Club Raises More Than $100,000 for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, Sets Future Goal of $250,000

 Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network and the children's hospital for the Hudson Valley, recognized more than 50 youth (11-13 years of age) hockey players and coaches from the Westchester Warriors for raising more than $100,000 during the team's 2017 spring/summer season. The Warriors announced a $250,000 goal for the team's total fundraising by next year and received a $5,000 contribution from Mark and Valerie Seelig to kick off their fundraising the same day. The funds will benefit the expansion of Maria Fareri Children's Hospital's pediatric cancer and blood disease program. 

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital celebrated the tremendous fundraising efforts of the team with a reception complete with an encouraging video message to the Westchester Warriors from Pat LaFontaine, a member of the National Hockey League's Hall of Fame, and a visit from some of the children's hospital's pediatric cancer patients.  A conceptual rendering was unveiled at the event showing the newly designed entrance to the pediatric cancer unit to be named Westchester Warriors Way.

This year's fundraising total was nearly 10 times the amount raised by the Westchester Warriors in 2016 due to growing interest in the hockey-playing, fundraising club founded by Team Manager Luis Panchame, Jr.

In addition to Panchame, the Westchester Warriors are led by coaches Scott Sanders, Denis Dufresne, Carmine Delia, and Ryan Koresky; managers, Ron Vitale, David Rosenberg, Rob Daros, Vincenzo Cappello and Oren Glick; and Director of Fundraising and Events, Melissa Subin.

Also at Friday's event were senior leaders at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital including Michael Gewitz, MD, William Russell McCurdy Physician-in-Chief and Mitchell Cairo, MD, Chief of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation.