Fun Centers At Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital

Honor Newtown Resident

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown resident Jeff Freedman, co-director of Camp Winaukee in New Hampshire — one of the largest boys’ sports camps in the United States — and his business partner Bart Sobel of New York City, whose father established the camp in 1934, were honored at Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital in New York City on Wednesday, December 1, when eight Fun Centers were installed in appreciation of the men’s work with youth. Camp Winaukee serves boys ages 7 to 15, and also hosts a ten-day camp each August for special needs children.

The Fun Centers, each costing approximately $10,000, are specially designed portable entertainment centers equipped with an LCD television, a Nintendo Wii, and a DVD player, intended to provide distraction and ease loneliness for children who are hospitalized.

The Fun Centers were donated by Alice and Ron Cohen of Boston, whose sons Adam and Brad have attended Camp Winaukee, and installed by Starlight Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of seriously ill children. The Cohens left it to Mr Freedman and Mr Sobel to decide where the Fun Centers would be installed.

“We chose Mount Sinai,” Mr Freedman said, “because of the amazing work they do with children, and because Mount Sinai gives a lot of free care to inner city children.”

In a statement read at the December 1 dedication of the Fun Centers, Mr Freedman said, “Bart and I are humbled by this beautiful gesture provided by the Cohen family, and are forever grateful that our name can be associated with fun at the Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital.” He went on to note how pleased he and Mr Sobel are that children in the hospital will now have access to the Fun Centers and be provided with “a brief respite from what they are going through daily.”

As the men have devoted their careers to making sure that children have fun, being honored with the Fun Centers is particularly meaningful, Mr Freedman said.

“We have devoted our careers to putting smiles on children’s faces,” he said, as have the Cohens, who are involved in the toy industry. Mr Freedman’s wife, Cindy Freedman, is an occupational therapist working with special needs children. “So we are all pretty passionate about making children happy,” Mr Freedman said.

“Our Fun Centers will brighten the lives of thousands of hospitalized children fighting serious and chronic illnesses. We are forever grateful to the Cohen family for this gift,” he stated via a press release.