Lights of Love for Sakura House

Friday, 13 November 2020 11:20

The annual Handbags for Hospice fundraiser this year is going to be replaced with the Lights for Love for Sakura House. You can help them light up the hospice and support a great cause at the same time.

WOODSTOCK - Handbags for Hospice is not happening this year in Woodstock.

VON Sakura House is going to pause the in person fundraiser in January because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are going to shift gears in 2020 and host a new campaign called Lights of Love.

The Lights of Love campaign is a special opportunity to celebrate our hospice and remember loved ones during this holiday season. The Lights of Love Campaign will run from November 10th to December 10th.

The Handbags for Hospice Committee has already started decorating the Sakura House with holiday lights for patients and families. Already several of the past Handbags sponsors have donated and now the organization is hoping to inspire the Oxford County community as well.

With a minimum donation of $25.00, community members can remember a loved one or dedicate their donation to our hard-working front-line workers. The individual you are remembering doesn’t need to have connection with Sakura House.

Donations will be accepted until December 10th, when they will have a virtual Lighting Ceremony to turn on the holiday lights. All donations will go towards the Sakura House Recovery Fund. The Sakura House Recovery Fund will help cover the increased costs due to the pandemic, such as extra nursing care, extra cleaning and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gowns, masks and gloves. It will also help recover the loss in memorial donations we experienced in the Spring, due to the changes at funerals and memorials.

Donors and community members are invited to attend the Virtual Lighting Ceremony, live on Facebook, at 6:00pm on Thursday, December 10th when the lights will be turned on. Due to Covid-19 restrictions from
our local health unit, we ask donors and the community to attend this event virtually on Facebook only.

The lights will remain lit until the end of January, so there is lots of time for donors and community members to drive by Sakura House safely in the future.

The names of loved ones will also be placed on special paper lanterns at the lighting ceremony and in an online video tribute.

VON Oxford has set a fundraising goal of $50,000. You can make a donation online at http://vonsakurahouse.com/lights-of-love/ or call 519-539-1231 ext. 221.