Starlight Foundation and local content creator visit children’s hospital

DANVILLE, Pa. – A local gamer and content creator visited Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital last week to witness firsthand how his fundraising efforts impact pediatric patients. 

Through the support of his online community, DGR Dave, who resides in the Altoona area, raised more than $80,000 for Starlight Children’s Foundation. Because of DGR Dave’s efforts, the the foundation funded two Starlight Gaming Stations for Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital and other children’s hospitals outside the area. The gaming stations are designed to roll anywhere in the hospital, allowing patients in-room entertainment and distractions during hospital stays.

DGR Dave has a special connection to Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. His wife Amanda, who accompanied him to the event, had emergency surgery at the hospital that saved her life when she was a teenager.

“We are very grateful for the hard work of Dave and the generosity of the Starlight Foundation to supply our hospital with these gaming systems,” said Glenn Bernius, director of philanthropy for women’s & children’s services with Geisinger Health Foundation. “Our pediatric patients are dealing with serious illness or injury, and for some, that means staying at the hospital for an extended period.  Providing our patients with entertainment goes a long way toward making the child and their family more comfortable during trying times.”

Starlight also surprised DGR Dave with a special award during the ceremony — the Content Creator of the Year Award.

“We’re grateful for partners like DGR Dave and Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital for supporting our mission of creating moments of happiness to help kids with illnesses heal,” said Devan Tozzo, community engagement coordinator at Starlight Children’s Foundation.

After the ceremony, DGR Dave played a few games with a patient on the new gaming equipment.

“As a dad of two daughters, there is no greater joy than seeing your kids happy. Knowing that the funds we raised are able to help make more kids happy, especially kids that are dealing with difficult circumstances out of their control, is an incredibly humbling feeling,” DGR Dave said.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is committed to making better health easier for the more than 1 million people it serves. Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes 10 hospital campuses, a health plan with more than half a million members, a research institute and the Geisinger College of Health Sciences, which includes schools of medicine, nursing and graduate education. With more than 25,000 employees and 1,700+ employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.