NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Islanders will donate $150,000 to create a child support center in honor of Matthew Schaefer’s late mother, Jennifer, who died of breast cancer in February 2024, the team said Monday.
The team and Northwell Health announced the creation of a place at R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital on Long Island in New Hyde Park, New York, for children to wait while a parent undergoes treatment. Following the donation from the Islanders Children's Foundation, the center named for Jennifer is set to open in October.
Schaefer, 18, is the front-runner to be NHL rookie of the year and has been the face of the Islanders franchise since they took him with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
He has talked extensively about his mother’s battle and death and her impact on his life and hockey career. The team put a pink breast cancer ribbon on the jersey presented to Schaefer at the draft in June, and he made the moment a tribute to his mom.
“I think about my mom every day — her strength, her hope and the way she carried herself with a smile throughout her fight against cancer,” Schaefer posted on Instagram. “This work is for her and for every family walking that road. I'm dedicating my time, energy and focus to standing beside them, carrying forward the same strength and fight my mom showed every day.”
Co-owner Jon Ledecky said: “By honoring Jennifer Schaefer's memory in this way, we are ensuring that no child has to walk through these difficult moments alone, providing them with a place of comfort, play and support when they need it the most.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.