Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers Team with CBS EcoMedia to Fund 41 Starlight Children’s Foundation® Tablets For 11 Philadelphia-Area Hospitals

PHILADELPHIA, PA, September 11, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers have partnered with CBS EcoMedia Inc. through its WellnessAd advertising to fund 41 Starlight Tablets for three Philadelphia-area hospitals.

A special “Power On!” ceremony launched the program on Wednesday. The celebration took place at CBS’ KYW Grand Hall, and attendees included representatives from all Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers, executives of Starlight Children’s Foundation and hospital representatives. Hosts included: Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia; Michael Uffner, President and CEO, Delaware Cadillac, and AutoTeam Delaware, and President of the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Marketing Association; Tom Murphy, Vice President of the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Marketing Association; John Hitchcock, President and GM of KYW 3; and Judith Christian, Executive Director, Starlight Children’s Foundation MidAtlantic. Special guests included hospital representatives and Starlight kids Malachi and Mikayla along with their family members.

Prior to the “Power On!” event at KYW, Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers, Judith Christian from Starlight, and Starlight families appeared on CBS3’s Talk Philly show to discuss the experiences of pediatric patients and how Starlight Children’s Foundation is making a difference with their Starlight Tablets and other programs.

Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac’s financial support delivered a total of 41 Starlight Tablets to the following hospitals: Abington Memorial Hospital, Children's Hospital at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital (Pediatrics in Bethlehem),  St. Mary Medical Center, Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital, Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Virtua Memorial Hospital, The Medical Center at Princeton, Voorhees Pediatric Facility, AtlantiCare, and Christiana Care Health System’s First State School. These Starlight Tablets funded by the area’s Cadillac Dealers will serve 20,000 pediatric patients per year.

"Child Life Specialists request Starlight Tablets to help kids understand and prepare for their treatments and provide them with opportunities for therapeutic play,” says Jacqueline Hart-Ibrahim, Global CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation. "This incredibly generous gift by the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac Dealers, provides hospitals throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware with a critical tool to meet their needs for exceptional patient care."

Starlight Tablets come loaded with Starlight’s educational programming and a direct link to Starbright World Starlight’s first-ever online social network for teens with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions, and their siblings. Members are able to connect globally with peers experiencing similar medical journeys.  

“I was introduced to Starbright World by my Child Life Specialist,” said Erin, former Starbright World Teen Member. “ As soon as I signed on I found that I had so much support that I now have friends from all four corners of the United States who can relate to what I go through when I am in the hospital. After being a member for a few years, I was asked if I would like to volunteer for the program and now I get to give back to Starlight by welcoming in new users and helping them escape the reality that is the hospital setting.”

“The Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers began our relationship with Starlight Children's Foundation and the very deserving kids they serve in 2012," said Mike Uffner Local Marketing Association President – from Delaware Cadillac in Wilmington, Delaware. "We were proud to be the first to bring this groundbreaking new Starlight Tablets technology to patients at Philadelphia children's hospitals.  Now we're very excited to be expanding this program to 11 new hospitals with the funding we're using from our WellnessAd advertising through CBS EcoMedia.  Our partnership with Starlight Children's Foundation means these young patients will have this great tool that enables them to stay in close touch with their families and friends, provides them with very effective distractive entertainment and gives them a better chance to get through this very difficult time in their lives while they cope with being alone in the hospital and the chronic illness that put them there."

“The positive impact Starlight makes on the lives of pediatric patients and their families cannot be underestimated,” said Paul Polizzotto, Founder and President of CBS EcoMedia, “and we’re proud to partner with Starlight and the Philadelphia Tri-State Cadillac dealers to extend the reach to many more children battling life-threatening disease. Thanks to the generous financial support provided by the Cadillac Dealers through our WellnessAd program, over the next twelve months, 41 new Starlight Tablets will improve the care, and brighten the experience, of almost 20,000 courageous and indomitable kids in 11 Philadelphia, Delaware, and New Jersey hospitals. This project is just one example of the tangible, meaningful quality of life improvements that are happening across the nation, as a result of the public-private partnership business model at the core of our EcoAd, WellnessAd, and EducationAd programs."

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 Starlight Children’s Foundation 

Over the past 30 years, Starlight Children’s Foundation has become a leading global charity that partners with experts to improve the life and health of kids and families around the world. Collaborating with innovators in pediatric healthcare, entertainment and technology, Starlight provides a unique blend of family-centered programs and services from hospital to home. Starlight partners with more than 1,750 healthcare facilities in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, serving millions of children every year. To learn more, visit www.starlight.org, or follow us at facebook.com/StarlightChildrensFoundation and twitter.com/StarlightOnline.

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 2010, 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 ecomediacbs.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.