Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers Partner With CBS EcoMedia And Starlight Children’s Foundation To Deliver iPads To Six Philadelphia-Area Hospitals

(3BL Media) Philadelphia, PA - August 21, 2012 - Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers have partnered with CBS EcoMedia Inc. and Starlight Children’s Foundation to provide iPads to six Philadelphia-area hospitals as part of Starlight’s pilot iPad technology program. The six hospitals receiving the iPad gifts are The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Capital Healthcare Medical Center-Hopewell of Trenton, N.J.; AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Atlantic City Campus of Atlantic City, N.J.; Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa.; Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del.; and St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pa.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will receive its iPads during a special “Power-On Event” on Tuesday, August 21 at 1:00 PM with delivery directly to the other facilities later in the week.  The new iPads will feature on-demand Starlight digital educational programming and distractive entertainment.  In addition, the program provides access to Starbright World, Starlight’s premier online social network for teens with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions, and their siblings. Teens are able to connect with other teens who are at home or in the hospital. 

Patients and their families will be able to use the iPads to stay in communication with other relatives, friends and loved ones while receiving treatment.  The iPads may also be used by patients to enjoy the conveniences of modern technology, enabling them to keep up with their studies, follow their favorite sports teams and enjoy movies, television shows and online games.

“For patients admitted to the hospital, it can be a stressful time, so we want to ensure that we do everything we can to give them the best possible experience.  Thanks to this donation of iPads from Starlight Children’s Foundation, EcoMedia and Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers, Child-Life Specialists and Child Activity Coordinators at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will have a high-tech tool to entertain and ultimately help ease the hospital stay of our patients,” said Neil Batiancila, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“The Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers are very proud to be able to help Starlight Children's Foundation. The Partnership will bring groundbreaking new technology to help kids in these six different area children's hospitals,” said Mike Uffner Local Marketing Association President – from Delaware Cadillac in Wilmington, Delaware.  “Providing these young patients with a way to connect with their families and friends while also helping to entertain them when they're coping with chronic illness and the isolation of being in the hospital is what we'd hope for our own children.  All of us at Cadillac are excited about being able to use a portion of our advertising dollars through EcoMedia to touch the lives of these kids and their families and help make such a tough time a little easier.”

“At EcoMedia, we’re very proud of the public-private partnership business model we’ve created and – as a result – of the environmental, community health, and educational improvements we’re helping to bring to communities across America,” said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia.  “It is our privilege to play a central role in putting iPads into the hands of children battling chronic illness, but this project simply would not have happened without the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers’ philanthropic vision and the knowledge and infrastructure contributed by Starlight Children’s Foundation.  It’s just one example of the positive social change made possible through EcoMedia’s WellnessAd, EcoAd and EducationAd programs.”

“Starlight Children’s Foundation is able to embrace, empower and enrich the lives of chronically ill children and their families through the financial support from generous partners like the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers and CBS EcoMedia,” said Jacqueline Hart-Ibrahim, Global CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation. “This gift of iPads that come loaded with Starlight digital programs will help improve the quality of life for children with serious medical conditions in the tri-state area. Together with healthcare providers and donors, Starlight is proud to help these children better understand and manage their illnesses through the use of innovative technology.”

About Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers

The Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers are a long-standing ad association that provides fourteen Cadillac dealers in three different states an opportunity to market the Cadillac brand in their local markets. From the metro Philadelphia area to the Lehigh Valley, up to the Trenton area and down to the Jersey Shore and Wilmington, Del., these dealers utilize the great opportunity to build awareness and consideration to their potential customers about the New Standard of the World luxury brand, Cadillac.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.

At EcoMedia, we're propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that's been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2008, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomedia.cbs.com to learn more. 

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services. 

About Starlight Children’s Foundation 

When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, the day-to-day joys of childhood take a back seat to the rigors of treatment and hospitalization. Starlight Children’s Foundation™ is a leading global health and education charity working to embrace, empower and enrich the lives of children from illness to wellness. Since 1983, Starlight has been improving the quality of life for children with serious medical conditions through programming that helps kids cope with the experiences of prolonged illness. 

Starlight’s hospital-based programs bring needed fun and distraction from medical treatments and have been proven to lessen the need for pain medication. Our web-based initiatives help young people better understand and manage their illness. Outside the hospital, Starlight Great Escapes™ connect families facing similar challenges so they can spend time together, escape their medical worries and return home with a renewed sense of strength, hope and community. 

Each year Starlight enriches the lives of more than 4.5 million children globally by providing ongoing support to children, parents and siblings in all U.S. states and every province in Canada, and is a leading children’s charity in the United Kingdom and Australia. To learn more, visit www.starlight.org.