Planning for the annual “Hope Lights Lives” luminary project is under way, which means the holidays aren’t too far behind.
The Hope Lights Lives fund-raiser supports the Center for HOPE and the Den for Grieving Kids — Family Centers’ programs offering bereavement and critical illness support. On Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m., neighborhoods throughout Darien, New Canaan, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Wilton, and Weston will light special luminary candles to celebrate the holiday season and provide support and hope to people living with an illness or grieving the loss of a loved one. A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 21.
“The Hope Lights Lives luminary lighting is a special event people in the community look forward to each year,” said Deirdre Lewin, director of the Center for HOPE and the Den for Grieving Kids. “While it’s a beautiful sight to see how the luminaries light up a neighborhood, it also helps us remember those who may be in pain during the holiday season.”
The project is primarily a volunteer-based effort. Town and block captains from each community sell luminary kits and deliver order forms to households on their streets. Dozens of other volunteers help assemble luminary kits, and distribute them as the lighting date nears. Last year, more than 600 volunteers helped sell more than 7,500 luminary kits.
Hope Lights Lives luminary kits are $25 and contain 12 tea light candles, 12 white paper bags and 12 plastic candle holders. Kits are available for purchase at several area businesses and at the Center for HOPE. For a list of participating vendors or to purchase a kit, call Gloria Veeder at 869-4848.
Hope Lights Lives is sponsored by BMW of Darien, Brown Thayer Shedd, Hoffman Landscapes, Kelly Associates Real Estate, Keno Graphic Services, Lawrence Funeral Home, Michael Joseph’s Catering, Northeast Utilities, Premier Worldwide Express, Rucci, Buirnham, Carta and Reilly, Saks Fifth Avenue, St. Aloysius Church, St. Michael’s the Archangel Church, St. Paul’s Church, St. Thomas More Church, Swimm Pools, Webster Bank, and the Yankee Candle Co.
The Third Annual Children’s Coin Harvest, which involves all the Jewish children in the Greenwich area, is a hands-on lesson in Tzedakah (the Hebrew word for charity and social justice). During the month-long Children’s Coin Harvest, students in kindergarten through seventh grade are asked to collect coins from family and friends and fill a special coin bag. All proceeds will go to benefit Jewish Family Services, a non-discriminatory social service agency that aims to improve the lives of Greenwich people while embracing Jewish tradition, wisdom and compassion.
The coin harvest is open to the community. Like Jewish Family Services’ programs, the Children’s Coin Harvest is non-denominational and everyone is welcome to participate. At the end of the “Harvest,” children will turn in their coin-filled bags to provide for programs in their own community. For those who cannot get to Jewish Family Services to turn in their Coin Harvest bags, the organization will arrange for children to come collect them.
Some of the programs the Coin Harvest supports include Adoption Connection (the only licensed adoption agency in Greenwich), Resettlement, Acculturation and Immigration Services, Supermarketing for Seniors (a 22-year-old program that shops for more than 200 homebound elderly Greenwich residents who cannot shop for themselves), emergency loans and financial aid for families in need, counseling and education, and comprehensive college counseling programs.
For more information, about these programs call 622-1881 or visit the Web site, Jfsgreenwich.org .
The YWCA Center for Women’s Economic Advancement will present “Change the Way You See Yourself through Asset-Based Thinking” at the Greenwich Library Meeting Room on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 6:30 p.m. The workshop, co-sponsored by the YWCA and the Greenwich Library Peterson Business Program Series, is free and open to the public.
To register go to Ywcagreenwich.org or call 869-6501, ext. 0.
Dr. Kathryn Cramer, author and founder of the Cramer Institute, has developed a revolutionary yet simple concept called asset-based thinking, a practical approach to taking the positive side of life and using it to your full advantage in everything you do. Learn the core message of her new book and how you can apply it to your personal and professional life.
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