It seems that almost everywhere we turn, there are reasons to be scared, anxious and uncertain. But, if we look, we can always find a brighter side of life.
We didn’t have to look very hard to find the bright side this week.
The story started out last week as mean-spirited and heartless. The Grinchiest of Grinches slithered through the trees and made off with most of the Christmas tree lights outside Foyer Lacombe, just one day after the St. Albert Sturgeon Hospice Association lit up Mission Hill to celebrate their fundraising efforts.
SASHA just finished a month-long fundraising campaign and sold Christmas tree light bulbs to support Foyer Lacombe, which offers 10 hospice suites and 12 continuing care suites for people with complex health needs who are nearing the end of their life and are unable to remain at home.
The goal of the campaign was to raise $25,000 to support the continued provision of compassionate palliative care in our community. The hospice association lit up 11 Christmas trees on the evening of Nov. 29. The next day, most of the lights were gone, at an estimated cost of $5,000.
The Grinch tried to stop Christmas from coming, but that didn’t sit well with Frank Neves. The good dentist from Bright Dental heard about the senseless crime and decided he was going to do something about it.
“With COVID-19, some of these people aren’t even getting family members to visit them as much as they normally would, so all they have are these Christmas lights to look at. So I just said we should put them up,” said Dr. Neves, who footed the bill for replacement costs.
This is supposed to be the season of joy and celebration. For many, it will be a time of grief and loneliness. That’s what makes Dr. Neves’ gesture that much more special. He has provided hope when it seemed there was only despair. He has restored faith in the human spirit when it was easy to give up on it. And he literally, and figuratively, has replaced the lights to counter the darkness.
We recognize there are many, many good deeds being done in our community daily by countless unsung heroes. Whether it’s clearing the walk for a neighbour, fetching groceries for an elderly person, donating to the food bank, plopping some spare change into the Salvation Army kettle or supporting the Kinettes’ Christmas hampers, the people with kind spirits and love in their hearts far outweigh the Grinches.
A sincere thank you to all the good people who bought bulbs to support Foyer Lacombe. Your generosity and kindness will always be remembered by those in palliative care and their families. Turns out, the theft of the lights has inspired our community and donations to SASHA via their website continue to roll in. It’s true – if we look for the bright side of life, we can always find it.
