CORNWALL, Ontario – On Nov 1st, 2021, a handful of Ingleside residents banded together and lit up the trees in Memorial Square in Ingleside.
The initial goal was to light 10-12 trees in Memorial Square, but after word got out of what they were doing, people wanted to get involved.
“To our surprise, not 10 minutes from the first post, my iPad lit up with replies, people were replying with ‘what a wonderful idea. I would love to sponsor a tree. I have lights I’m not using, where can I drop them off?”, said Richard Waldroff.
Richard and his team of Ingleside residents were not prepared for this feedback, and were running out of supplies. They handled this, by pricing a sponsored tree at $100, to cover the estimated costs of lighting it, and by including a sign on the tree with a sponsor message of choice.
After a week, they decorated 17 trees that were dedicated in memory of loved ones, exceeding their goal of 10-12 trees. They were able to accomplish this with the $2633.43 they received in donations from the community, for lights, timers, extension cords, and more.
After a few nights of trial runs setting up the projectors and flood lights for their ceremony, they were able to celebrate.
“Hot chocolate and cookies were offered for our ceremonies. Then a call came in from one of Santa’s Elves that the big guy would like to drop by after the parade to visit the children before heading back to the North Pole. What a wonderful way to kick off the holidays,” said Waldroff.
Planning for lighting up Memorial Square in 2022 is in the works.
