4,700 Walkers Stroll for a Goal at NSTAR's Walk for Children's Hospital Boston

June 15, 2009

Boston, Mass. -- Nearly 4,700 walkers from New England logged miles for miracles along the Charles River at NSTAR's Walk for Children's Hospital Boston this weekend. Children's Hospital patients, families and staff, NSTAR employees and other partners laced up their sneakers and rallied to raise money for Children's patient care, research and community health programs. Boston Celtics player Brian Scalabrine and Boston Breakers player Kristine Lilly attended to cheer on the walkers.

Children's goal is to raise more than $1.5 million at this year's Walk. The event has raised more than $5 million for Children's Hospital since 2003.

Children's Hospital clowns; Celtics player Brian Scalabrine; child walk ambassadors Corrine Prohovich and Nathan Jedow; WCVB-TV personality Heather Unruh; Children's Hospital CEO James Mandell, MD and his grandson; NSTAR Senior VP of Customer Care and Corporate Relations Joe Nolan; NSTAR chairman, CEO and president Tom May and others kick off NSTAR's Walk for Children's Hospital. More than 4,500 people walked to raise funds for the hospital’s patient care, research and community health programs.

"We're grateful for each walker's commitment to raising funds for Children's exceptional care and cutting-edge research," said Dr. James Mandell, CEO of Children's Hospital Boston. "The Walk is a great family event; not only is it fun, but it also teaches young kids about giving back to others."

Children's Hospital honored two patients, Corrine Prohovich of Weston, MA and Nathan Jedow of Bedford, NH, as NSTAR Walk Child Ambassadors for their triumph in overcoming tremendous medical odds and commitment to inspiring others to participate in, and fundraise for, the Walk. They helped kick-off the walk.

NSTAR, the electricity and natural gas company that serves over 1.4 million customers in Massachusetts, is the named sponsor of the walk. NSTAR is also lending expertise to promote and help increase participation in the Walk. More than 600 people joined the NSTAR Walkers Team this weekend.

Additional sponsors include: Marriott, Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Pepsi, Roche Brothers, Waste Management, JN Phillips Auto Glass, The Allied Group, Longwood Security, Sodexo, Panera Bread, Cambridgeside Galleria and Ricoh. Media partners include WCVB-TV, Improper Bostonian and Gatehouse Media Group.

For more information, visit www.childrenshospital.org/walk.

Contact:
Amy Sweeney
Children's Hospital Trust
617-355-4102
amy.sweeney@chtrust.org

Children's Hospital Boston is one of the nation's premier pediatric medical centers. Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, today it is a 397-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, the largest provider of health care to the children of Massachusetts, and home to the world's leading pediatric research enterprise. For more information about Children's, visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.