It’s something no parent wants to think about: your child has been injured and needs to stay in the hospital.

Whether it’s just for a few days or a matter of months, in Syracuse, odds are your little one will end up at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital’s 11E Trauma/Surgery/Burns Unit, the only pediatric trauma center in Upstate New York. While he or she is certainly in good hands, that doesn’t necessarily make the stay any less terrifying for the child.

“This is a very hard time for kids,” said Lindsay Setter, an RN on 11E. “They’re scared. We try to do everything we can to make them feel less stressed and more at home. We have all the medical supplies we need at the hospital, but we are looking to purchase the non-medical items to help promote relaxation and healing.”

To help raise money to purchase supplies to make the kids’ stays a little more bearable, Setter organized Paddle for a Cause, a fundraising event at Stones Marina Kayak Club in Bridgeport.

“Stones Marina is a great venue to have a fun family day with the beautiful landscape and refreshing water to kayak and paddle board the day away,” Setter said. “The owner has donated all services to support our cause.”

The event, which takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, will include a variety of family-friendly activities, including kayaking and paddle boarding on Oneida Lake, face painting, a bounce house, a small animal presentation from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, kids’ building projects presented by Home Depot, chair massages, raffles, food and beverages and about 25 vendors peddling their wares. There’s also an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Barbados at the five-star Crane Resort, complete with air fare on Jet Blue, a rum tour and a catamaran cruise for two, which will be given away at the event. The winner will be announced at 4 p.m. All the while, live music will be provided by Master Thieves.

With the money raised Saturday, Setter said the nurses hope to purchase items like baby bounce chairs, Pack ‘n’ Plays, toys, rockers, swings and more.

“The items purchased will be used directly for patient care and better well-being,” Setter said. “Many babies do not have parents stay with them overnight, so we’ll purchase better sleeping tools. A large number of kids are on precautions and cannot leave their rooms, so we will purchase activities to entertain their minds while their bodies heal.”

In addition to helping out the kids on 11E, Saturday’s event will raise money for medical missions Golisano’s nurses attend through Americans Serving Abroad Project (ASAP), a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and education of rural communities in western Africa.

“We go to villages deep in Africa where the children and families have no medical services available to them,” Setter said. “We are working towards buying a medical bus that can provide mobile medical care to many people in need. On our last mission, we treated more than 3,000 people with a wide variety of diagnoses.” 

That’s why this weekend’s event is so important: so that children, whether they live in Central New York or half a world away, can get the care — and comfort — they need.

“No one ever wants to be in a hospital, but when your child is sick, it is wonderful to have a place like Golisano in your own backyard,” she said. “We have cutting-edge medical care, caring staff and great programs to help patients and families get through difficult times. I am so proud to be a part of this hospital and my team, and that is why I am taking the time to try and make this an even better environment than we already provide.”

Tickets for Paddle for a Cause are $20; kids 13 and under get in free. For more information, visit facebook.com/events/516483991847678/ or fundmedmissions.org.