On Monday morning, Islanders Senior Vice-President and General Manager Mathieu Darche was in his office at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow putting the finishing touches on the team’s opening night roster. A short time later, Darche drove with his wife to join other members of the Islanders organization to help build a playground at the YMCA at Glen Cove.
The Islanders, along with the Islanders Children’s Foundation, YMCA of Long Island, and KABOOM! joined forces to construct a new community and kid-designed play space. Darche may be new to Long Island, but he already knows full well how important the Islanders are to the community.
“Part of our role as a pro team is to get involved in the community,” said Darche. “In my role as one of the leaders of the hockey department, it's to be part of this. We have a lot of player wives who are here and I’m here with my wife and it’s great to give back.”
Darche grabbed a rake and went up to the top of a mountain of mulch to help representatives of all different parts of the Islanders organization who were on hand to complete the construction of the playground.
“It’s so nice to have him," said Ann Rina, the Islanders Vice-President of Community Relations and Executive Director of the Islanders Children’s Foundation. “He had a big day. He went from finalizing the roster to jumping out and helping in the community and he’s helping us finish this playground.”
Darche, Rina, and so many other Islanders employees combined to create a sea of blue “Islanders In The Community” t-shirts throughout the space. From people in sales and marketing to those in digital and social media to the Islanders’ mascot Sparky, the whole organization came to Glen Cove to dot the I’s and cross the T’s on a very important project.
The Islanders’ broadcasting department was well represented at the event, including new radio play-by-play announcer Alan Feuhring along with Brendan Burke and Shannon Hogan from MSG Networks.
“I’ve got three kids,” said Burke, who is getting ready to call Thursday night’s Islanders season opener in Pittsburgh on MSGSN. “I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time at these playgrounds for the last 11 years, so it’s great to be able to see them be made and put some work in. These are great. The kids love them.”
The playground build in Glen Cove is just a sample of what the Islanders do for the community on Long Island. With an opportunity to bring children the joy of a brand-new space to play, the Islanders were more than happy to be a part of the project and to join forces with KABOOM!, an organization with a mission to end play space inequity for good, as well as with the YMCA of Long Island.
“It means a lot to partner with a group like the YMCA, said Rina. “They are here giving opportunities to children and giving them safe places to play and programs.”
At the end of the day, the children of the Glen Cove community were the big winners, as Long Island’s only major professional sports franchise came through in the clutch to help create an environment that will help enrich the lives of the kids who will have the joy of having fun at the playground.
The project came together as fast as Islanders star Mat Barzal can skate from one end of the ice to the other.
“It’s truly amazing,” said Peter Foster, the Executive Director of the YMCA at Glen Cove. “This is a process that started back in July and it’s been moving pretty quickly. The people with the Islanders have been great in getting us to this point and now to have them all here to volunteer and complete the build is truly amazing.”
Wearing their geographic area on their iconic logo, the Islanders have always been dedicated to the Long Island community. The Islanders Children’s Foundation was launched in 2003 as part of the vision and leadership of late Islanders owner Charles Wang, who had a passion to help children and provide them with the best opportunities to live happy, healthy, and successful lives.
The mission of the Islanders Children’s Foundation is to serve local communities now and in the future with commitment to supporting, educating, and developing area youth, while investing in Metro New York’s families and community wellbeing.
The current Islanders ownership, including Scott Malkin, Jon Ledecky, Oliver Haarmann, Dewey Shay, and John Collins, shares the vision that Wang established more than 20 years ago.
“The Islanders Children’s Foundation is incredibly important for the Islanders ownership group,” said Ledecky. “We’re using funds raised, mostly by the players…players raising money playing golf and other things with the fans and with sponsors to build this incredible playground here in Glen Cove. It’s very exciting to be able to take those resources and take the team and how the team is perceived in the community and be able to have great things happen.”
Monday was a very special day for the Islanders organization, along with the YMCA and KABOOM!, as the mission was to create a fun and safe space for the children in Glen Cove. Mission accomplished on an amazing playground built by people who care so deeply about the Long Island community.