In communities across the globe, tree lighting ceremonies mark the official start of the holiday season, uniting friends and neighbors together in the spirit of the season.
The same happens at Shore Medical Center each year with its Auxiliary’s Tree of Lights ceremony, but with an extra special touch.
Each year in advance of the ceremony, the Auxiliary invites community members to make a donation in honor or memory of a loved one in support of the medical center.
The names of those individuals are inscribed in the Tree of Lights Book, with each light on the illuminated tree representing people who have been honored.
This year’s Tree of Lights ceremony was held on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the hospital lobby, with a large crowd gathered around the tree.
June Batz played holiday music softly on the lobby piano until the ceremony began.
Auxiliary members Gerrie McNellis Medica and Carol Platt welcomed the crowd and reminded them what the tree lighting is all about.
Then they welcomed members of the Greate Bay Women’s Golf Association to the podium, with member Marilouise Berdow doing the honors of lighting the tree.
Each year the Auxiliary pays special honor to a group or individual that best helps further its causes.
The Greate Bay Women’s Golf Association has raised more than $225,000 in partnership with the Auxiliary since 2016 to help women undergoing cancer treatment at Shore Cancer Center who are uninsured or underinsured.
For more information about the Auxiliary of Shore Medical Center, please call 609-653-4646.
