Isles Children's Foundation and Northwell Distribute 500 Backpacks in Second Annual Event

Chalked up and ready for the school year.

Employees from Northwell Health and the New York Islanders teamed up to pack 500 backpacks for kids in need of academic assistance and distributed them to a variety of local nonprofits.

The blue backpacks, with an Isles logo and Northwell branding, were filled to the brim with notebooks, pencils, crayons, a folder and more.

“The backpacks look fantastic and the items inside are pretty robust,” said Joe Interlandi, Captain of the Northwell Health hockey team. “If I were a kid I could, I’d love to get something so colorful and full.”

Interlandi and his team, the Northwell Health Heroes, joined Islanders employees in volunteering to stuff backpacks on Wednesday. Northwell’s mission of making an impact in the community is executed by their staffers who are passionate to contribute to a good cause.

“It’s incredibly important to give back to the community, every year we do more and more community events,” Interlandi said. “We’re fully invested in doing things for the community. Every year that goes by, we seem to have more opportunities to do community outreach, and our players are there for it.”

Children of the staffers joined Wednesday’s action, as kids ranging from five to college-age pitched in.

“I look forward to this event every year,” said John Kelly, who brought his daughter Madelyn to help stuff backpacks on Wednesday. “Simply because it gives us an opportunity to further support our community, as well as an opportunity for my daughter to have the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than herself, help people that are in need.”

Madelyn is starting her own school year soon and is thrilled to help less fortunate students to prepare for a successful academic year.

“Sometimes kids in need just don't have anything. So, we're packing backpacks for them for school too,” said Madelyn Kelly.

Kids gathered at Northwell Health Ice Center on Saturday to collect their new swag, while also enjoying balloon twisting by Nick the Balloonatic, airbrush tattoos courtesy of Event Kings and more. Sparky the Dragon was there to add to the fun and Islanders I.C.E. elements, like the Slapshot booth and Moonbounce were in full swing.

The end-of-summer initiative had all those involved smiling, as the backpacks were distributed to a variety of local nonprofits on Saturday, providing the supplies needed for a successful upcoming school year and a bright future.

"Empowering students with the tools they need is not just about filling backpacks—it's about filling hearts with hope and minds with the promise of possibility," said Ann Rina, Executive Director, Islanders Community Relations & Islanders Children’s Foundation. "By supporting these essential initiatives, our foundation believes in nurturing the potential within every child, ensuring that every student starts the school year with confidence and opportunity."