Children’s hospital gowns can be boring and uncomfortable. To change that, the My Starlight Gown contest invites you to come up with a cheerful alternative. Hosted by Scholastic, Starlight Children’s Foundation and Niagara Cares, the contest asks for original designs to be submitted by April 18, 2019.
“We’re excited to invite America to help us bring smiles and happiness to hospitalized kids,” says Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation. “The contest is fun, easy, and a great activity for kids and families to enjoy in school or around the kitchen table.”
There are two ways to participate:
- Contestants of all ages are encouraged to visit www.starlight.org to download a Starlight Gown template, create an original design and submit it directly to Starlight for consideration.
- Children in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum created by Scholastic. The lesson plan culminates in entering the My Starlight Gown contest at www.scholastic.com/mystarlightgown. For every design submitted through the program, Niagara Cares will donate a book to a hospitalized child.
Submissions will be accepted through April 18. Finalists will be announced May 13, with public voting for favorites. Winners will be announced June 12.
Starlight Gowns replace traditional children’s hospital gowns with ones that are soft, tie on the side instead of down the back and feature brightly-colored, fun designs that transform kids into their favorite characters. Launched in 2016, the program has already delivered almost 400,000 gowns to hospitalized children across the U.S.
