Treetops Hospice Care is inviting people to sponsor a light on their Christmas tree to shine in memory of someone special throughout the festive period.
The lights will be switched on during a special ‘Light up a Light’ ceremony at the hospice on Sunday 4 December from 4pm.
Treetops, based in Risley, provide nursing care and emotional support for adults in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire including a Day Care unit which offers physical, emotional and social care to adults diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.
Amongst those attending the event, will be the family of Prue Ogden who was a guest at Day Care until her death in 2014.
Prue’s daughter, Caroline Simpson from Long Eaton, explained why the ceremony will be so special for her and her family:
“Mum’s community nurse put her in touch with Treetops. She wasn’t keen at first but she absolutely loved it and made some wonderful friends. It made a big difference to her and it gave us a break too.
“She came home with so many stories of what she’d been up to. She would tell us how she was well looked after by the nurses and she also did art therapy which she loved. It was a way of helping to express how she felt.
“When mum was alive, she would do Light up a Life for other members of the family – for her brothers and sisters – and we like to continue that now, as well as being something to remember her by.
“Treetops was always there for us. Mum was a proud woman, and knowing that she was cared for with dignity, and doing things that she loved, made a massive difference for her and for us.”
The Light up a Life ceremony will include carols and readings. Dedications will be on display in a Book of Remembrance. Refreshments will be available from 3pm. The ceremony is an outdoor event so those attending are advised to dress for the weather.
For those unable to attend Light up a Life, the Book of Remembrance will be available to view online at www.treetopshospice.org.uk/lights as from Monday 21 November.
