Cathy and Hector Murphy of Garden City, hosts of the 2009 Winthrop Yuletide Soirée Each year, during the December holiday season, Garden City residents gather for an elegant evening of dining, dancing and fundraising for pediatric services at Winthrop-University Hospital.

Mr. and Mrs. Hector Murphy of Garden City have graciously volunteered to host the 2009 Winthrop-University Hospital annual holiday fundraiser, the Yuletide Soirée, at their beautiful Garden City home. The event will take place on December 12 and will raise funds in support of Winthrop’s Child Life Program and the Hospital’s pediatric services.

The new theme of this year’s annual fundraiser - the Yuletide Soirée - will be reflected in a cocktail party-style event in an elegant lounge-like setting. A festive, contemporary holiday atmosphere complete with live music, fine dining and dancing, will set the tone for an un-forgettable community event aimed at raising crucial funds for pediatric programs at Winthrop.

Proceeds of the Yuletide Soirée will benefit Winthrop’s unique Child Life Program, through which specially trained Child Life Specialists help children understand and cope with hospitalization. The caring and highly trained staff use therapeutic play, arts and crafts, entertainment and other diversions, to ensure that the hospital experience is as stress-free as possible for children and their families. Child Life Specialists are available in the Pediatric Emergency Unit, the Cancer Center for Kids, Pediatric Specialty Center and the Hospital’s Hagedorn Pediatric Inpatient Center.

For more information about Winthrop’s Yuletide Soirée, please call Maria Kavan, Development Associate at Winthrop, at (516) 663-3398 or email mkavan@winthrop.org.

To reserve tickets online, please visit www.winthrop.org/events.