Islanders Helping Military Families on the Home Front

The New York Islanders do a lot to support the military, but in addition to honoring active servicemen and women, the Isles were helping out on the home front on Tuesday.
The Islanders hosted the team's third military baby shower, partnering with Operation Shower, as well as Ryan, LLC, to give gifts to 25 expecting military families.

"It's a great day to bring moms together with Islanders wives and military wives to show them they're not alone, build connections and have a day of fun," Amy Belle Isle, the Chief Creative Officer for Operation Shower, said. "We love the partnership and the fact that [the Islanders] want to celebrate military families and recognize them as well."
The expecting moms were showered with plenty of gifts on Tuesday, in addition to lunch at the UBS Club at UBS Arena. All moms received a shower in a box, a kit that includes baby clothes, wipes, bottles, books and more.

There were fun games and baby-related trivia - emceed by Shannon Hogan, who is currently pregnant with her second child - for moms to win extra gifts, including a baby's first hockey season gift pack, which included earmuffs for when the little ones go to their first Islanders games.
In addition to the shower in a box, everyone was gifted a crib from Delta Children, as well as a rockaRoo® baby rocker. The families were also gifted with a Frida Baby gift set, a cooking scale, a baby monitor, a Stop & Shop gift card, a Yumi care package and Diaper Genie's. Financially, kids' stuff adds up quickly and this type of material support goes a long way, as well as just saving the time to go out and buy or restock the essentials.
"It lifts a lot of weight on my shoulders and my husband as well," said Allyssa Hailemaskel, whose husband is in the Air Force and whose family is back in California. "Really now we just need a bunch of diapers because we have everything else at this point."
Hailemaskel already has two children, ages seven and four, and with her family being in California, didn't think she'd get a baby shower for her third. Her neighbor told her about Operation Shower and she was extremely thankful to feel supported by the organization, as well as meet other moms who are or have been in the same position.
"We're away from our family, so we really have to lean on our neighbors and just our community," she said. "Their husbands are gone as well, so we're all doing our very best to lean on each other. We're so appreciative of this support that [Operation Shower and the Islanders] are giving us, so I can't explain how much it means to myself and the other moms."

The Islanders wives and girlfriends helped stage Tuesday's shower. A lot of the wives are moms themselves, so they can relate to the challenges of a pregnancy and raising young kids with partners who are away from home a lot, though 41 road games doesn't compare to long deployments.
"A lot of us are moms and so this one is special to us," Sydney Martin said. "Our husbands go on the road and we're home alone a lot during the season, but it's nothing compared to what these mothers go through when their husbands are deployed or if they're serving in the military, they have to be away from their own children."
"We're just here to celebrate them, give back to them and make sure that they feel special and celebrated and can enjoy this time," Martin added.
By all accounts, the third annual event was a success.
"I'm very honored and thankful for this opportunity," said Rachael Amaral, whose husband serves in the Coast Guard. "It means a lot when you're not near family to be loved by other people."