Continuing on with the 34-year holiday tradition, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) has launched its annual Tree of Lights fundraising Campaign.
In years past, HDGH staff and family would have traditionally gathered in its main lobby, reading tributes and placing an ornament in remembrance of a loved one, this year COVID-19 safety precautions forced the event to be done via live stream on Facebook.
Speaking at Tuesday's event, CEO Janice Kaffer says it's hard not to concentrate on the things we've lost this year.
"We lost having the Salvation Army Band here [at this event], we've lost individuals, we've lost much this past year," she says. "But I think the thing that this tree represents for me and what this ceremony represents is not what we've lost but what we still have and what we have to hold on to," adding "We have family, we have love, we have faith, we have tradition, we have remembrance and we have a whole lot of friendship and guidance in how we're going to move forward."
Kaffer says the tree is meant to act as a symbol of past Christmases.
"Don't think about what we've lost, think about what we remember, think about who we have in our hearts, think about all the different experiences of love we've shared and focus on that," she says. "For the rest of the year, don't focus on what we don't have, lets focus on what we do."
As part of Tuesday's event, it was announced that the Solcz Family and the Solcz Family Foundation have donated $10,000 toward the 2020 Tree of Lights Campaign.
For every Tree of Lights donation made, HDGH will hang a special ornament in memory or in honour of your loved one on its Christmas tree and send you a paper ornament for you to place on your own tree at home.
This year's funds will go to a variety of comfort items recognized by HDGH frontline staff from patient-need. Donors can choose specifically how they would like their funds directed online .