The Christmas trees at Bethesda Hospital are now lit up for the entire month of December.

There are 1,018 strands of lights glowing on 125 trees at part of the Bethesda Foundations Gifts of Light campaign.

Director Keith Unger says this is an important community event for Steinbach.

“It’s special every year,” he says. “This time, even more special because of all the help we’ve had from all the healthcare workers. And this is just such a great event for us to thank those people who have helped us in the last year, and to remember some of those that have passed, and just to see all the sponsors names on all the trees.”

The foundation had set a goal of raising $100,000 and has already surpassed that amount by $25,000.

Director Chris Goertzen says there are ongoing projects that are being worked on, and this money will help improve healthcare in our region.

He offers sincere appreciation for our healthcare workers who continue to provide quality care during a challenging time.

“The Bethesda Foundation is always so proud of our healthcare workers,” says Goertzen. “And we want to say ‘thank you.’ Thank you for the incredible efforts that have been going on for these last number of years, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. And we look forward to continuing to support you with better facilities and, also a special ‘thank you’ through these beautiful lights here.”

During a time of year when there are fewer daylight hours, the colourful lights add some cheer and Unger hopes the glow will remind us how great a season this is.

Although the tree lighting this year did not involve all the festivities we have enjoyed in past years, director Kent Ledingham says the community is still very much involved in this event.

“It still is a community event in a way because you’ll hear people talking about it for the next month, how they went for a walk or they drove by all the lights and how it cheered them up or how it made them feel,” he explains. “We may not be able to gather and have hot chocolate, but at least we can still have a common experience here in town.”

The Bethesda Foundation is using this campaign as an opportunity to honour and recognize the many healthcare workers, including the kitchen staff, cleaning staff, doctors, nurses and everyone who works in health care, in every aspect.

Many people in the community have sponsored a tree this year in honour of a healthcare hero within their family.