Patients and caregivers who travel long distances for outpatient treatment often have difficulty finding a place to stay. The hospitality house helps alleviate this problem.The proceeds from this year's Methodist Hospital Foundation's Holiday Lights for Health campaign will benefit the Hospitality House of Methodist Hospital Foundation - a homelike facility for outpatients and family members who need close access to Methodist Regional Cancer Center for ongoing medical treatment.
Patients and caregivers who travel long distances for outpatient treatment often have difficulty finding a place to stay. The hospitality house helps alleviate this problem.
The fund-raising goal for the 8th annual Holiday Lights campaign is $18,000. This project will put a little extra cheer in the holiday season by placing large wreaths with lights displayed on them outside the main entrance at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge (MMC). Each light represents a donation.
Lights may be dedicated in memory, in honor, or in celebration of a family member or friend. They may also symbolize a holiday greeting, special achievement, or any other message the donor would like to extend to a loved one, business associate, organization or special friend.
If a gift is made in memory or honor of someone, a tribute card will be sent to the appropriate person or organization. Gifts received in the Foundation office by Tuesday, Dec. 2, will be listed in the Holiday Lights for Health dedication program.
The dedication ceremony, which marks the official beginning of the holiday season for MMC, will take place Monday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. in the hospital's main lobby. Participants, organizers and the public are invited to attend and see the lights illuminated for the first time this season.
This year's campaign chairperson is Clay Good, a Clinton resident and MMC pharmacist. Other 1997 committee members include Cande Seay, Nancy Gray, Wanda Penland Olson, Mike Wilson, Gwen Cole, June Adcox, Nadine Valentino, Lydia Younger, Becky Lew, Jackie Walls and Anne Lawson.
The cost for one light is $10, three lights are $25, eight lights are $50, and 20 lights are $100. This year, donors may also choose to light up a bush for $500 or a tree for $1,000. The donor or company name will appear on a sign placed in front of the tree or bush.
All donations, which are tax deductible, are payable to Methodist Hospital Foundation, 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike, P. O. Box 2529, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-2529. For more information, call the Foundation at (865) 481-1890.
Methodist Hospital Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation created to encourage and manage charitable contributions for the support of patients of MMC. It receives individual, foundation and corporate donations, which are used to assist MMC in providing medical equipment, indigent care and innovative health care.