Lollipop Theater Network

LOLLIPOP is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to bringing current movies and entertainment to children confined to hospitals nationwide due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses

About Us

About Us

LOLLIPOP is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to bringing current movies and entertainment to children confined to hospitals nationwide due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses

What We Do

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The experience of lining up at the theater when your favorite movie opens, getting your ticket, grabbing popcorn, and picking out a seat can be a memorable moment in a child’s life. But what about the children who are battling life-threatening illnesses in hospitals nationwide who can’t get to the theater? The kids who don’t get to enjoy that experience at the same time as everyone else?

That’s where LOLLIPOP comes in.

LOLLIPOP delivers the season’s biggest blockbusters while they are still in the theater right to those children and their families at the hospital, working with leading motion picture studios to bring the joy, magic, and momentary escape of the movies to those who need it most.

Imagine rolling out the red carpet for a sick child and letting them see The Peanuts Movie at the same time all their friends are rushing to the theaters to see Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Or bringing those adorable Minions and their movie hijinks right to the hospital to brighten up an ailing child’s day.

For many of these pediatric patients – ranging in age from 1-20 – even a small dose of normal, everyday life is enough to give them the strength and the hope they need to keep fighting.

And our mission doesn’t stop with just movies. Our programming includes TV series and movies, our Rhythm of Hope® music program, movie-themed arts and crafts activities, collaborations with Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Animation and Blue Sky Studios and special celebrity visits.

Our History

In June 2002, LOLLIPOP debuted its program at MSKCC with a special screening of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

In January 2001, Janis Schodowski Fischer was a volunteer in the pediatric ward at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. On Fridays, she helped out at “Movie Nights,” when the hospital rented movies recently released on video and screened them for the children in the playroom.

Janis thought it might be a special treat for them to be able to watch a current movie, so she borrowed a friend’s screening copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which had just opened in theaters.

The children’s excitement took Janis by surprise. They talked about the screening for days. And the hospital staff was so grateful for the joy and excitement that was filling their hallways. That’s when the idea hit Janis – Bring the movie theater to the kids!

Janis shared the idea with her friend, children’s book publisher Joshua Gaspero, who helped her incorporate a new non-for-profit organization, which they named Lollipop Theater Network (LOLLIPOP).

The next challenge was getting the movie studios onboard. Thanks to the insight of a mutual friend, Tracy Tarrant, Janis was introduced to Evelyn Iocolano, whose help and relentless persistence made LOLLIPOP a reality.

In June 2002, LOLLIPOP debuted its program at MSKCC with a screening of Twentieth Century Fox’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

Since then, LOLLIPOP has screened hundreds films, TV series and virtual programs for hospitalized children nationwide, as well as in Canada, Mexico City, Argentina and Colombia, and expanded its programming to include LOLLIPOP’s Rhythm of Hope® music program, and collaborations with top animation studios and special celebrity visits.

Janis Fischer

Joshua Gaspero

Evelyn Iocolano

The Team

Susan Chicas

Programs

Jessica Friedman

Programs

Diana Guangorena

Programs

Evelyn Iocolano

co-Founder/ Executive Director

The Child Life Advisory Board

Lisa Barron

Pediatric Officer Supervisor
Palm Beach Children’s Hospital

Theresa Bunkers, MS, CCLS

Certified Child Life Specialist
M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital

Kelli Carroll

Manager, Chase Child Life Program
UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Westwood

Natalie Chicas

Volunteer Coordinator
Shriners for Children Medical Center in Pasadena

Mathea Jacobs

KidZone TV Manager, Child Life Video Producer
The Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital

Britta Johnson M.Ed., CCLS

Media Producer
Zucker Family Suite & Broadcast Studio
M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital

Betsy McMillian

Child Life Manager
MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital

Anna Pabustan

Cardiology/Cardiac Transplant Child Life Specialist
UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Westwood

Kathryn Robbins

Child Life Specialists
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

Tracy Reyes Serrano

Child Life Specialist II
UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Santa Monica

Maria Tome

CCLS, Director of Child Life Program
LAC + USC Medical Center

Charity Vasquez

MS., CCLS
Director for Master of Science in Child Life Program
Azusa Pacific University

Sue Waltermeyer

MA, CCLS
Cure 4 the Kids Foundation

The Board of Directors

Chris Aronson

President, Domestic Theatrical Distribution
Paramount Pictures

Carolyn Blackwood

Former Chief Operating Officer
Warner Bros. Pictures Group

Dan M. Crown

Co-Founder/Producer
Red Crown Productions

Dan Fellman

President
Fellman Consulting Corp

Anne Hathaway

Actress

Ryan Johnston

President/CEO
InterPhase Entertainment

Jack Kline

Advisor/ Former CEO
Christie Digital Systems

Andrew Leigh

President
Jerry Leigh of California

Jim Orr

President, Theatrical Distribution
Universal Pictures

David Robinson

President/CEO
Morgan Creek Entertainment Group

Alessandro F. Uzielli

Senior Advisor, Global Brand Entertainment
Ford Motor Company

The Advisory Board

Billy Bush

Anchor / Executive Producer
Extra

Erica Cicero

Senior Manager, Global Event Marketing
YETI

Monique Coleman

Actress

Alicia Coppola

Actress

Janet Crown

Owner
Burn 60 Studios

P.J. Dantonello

Manager, Events & Regional Publicity
Netflix

Jillian Kogan Dunn

Founder/President
Fortune Favors the Bold, Inc.

Craig Ferguson

Television Host/Personality

Joshua Gaspero

Co-Founder
Lollipop Theater Network

Lisa Giannakopulos

SVP, Publicity and Promotions
Allied Global Marketing

Dana E. Glauberman

Film Editor

Claire Kaye

President & Founder
Pure Imagination PR

Jessie Kernan

Head of Product & Strategy
We Are Rosie

Spencer Klein

Head of Distribution
Netflix

Katie Lowes

Actress

Machiko Mazzella

 

Bobby Montes

Owner / Operator
Sloane’s Valley Village Restaurant

Rachel Nichols

Actress

Miranda Rieckhoff

Director, Administration
DreamWorks Animation

Laura Root

Executive Assistant to President
Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Paramount Pictures

Amanda Soll

Director, National Publicity
Sony Pictures Entertainment

Andrew Sunshine

President
The Film Expo Group

Richard Zakin

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