Snow flurries delighted the children and adults gathered at The Memorial Hospital at Easton on November 18 for the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony and the beginning of the hospital Auxiliary’s Annual Tree of Lights fundraising campaign. Bundled up for the early winter weather, guests enjoyed entertainment provided by the Bay Country Chorus and the children of the Shore Child Development Center.
The Auxiliary has set a goal to raise $7,500 for an upgraded quality assurance radiation monitoring system for Shore Regional Cancer Center.
The quality assurance radiation monitor is used by specially trained staff at the cancer center’s Requard Radiation Oncology Center to check the amount of radiation being generated from the machines that are used to treat cancer patients. The monitor also measures the shape and energy of the radiation beam that will penetrate the targeted tumor. All of these measurements must be accurate to ensure treatment that is precise for each patient.
Addressing the tree lighting guests, Memorial Hospital Auxiliary President Joe Shultz said, “The annual Tree of Lights ceremony rings in the holiday season and reminds us that this is a time of giving. The people of Easton and surrounding communities have donated over $250,000 to the Tree of Lights campaign during the past 25 years.” Each year the Auxiliary chooses from a list of requests for the hospital service that will benefit from Tree of Lights fundraising.
Rosalie Bryan, chair of the Tree of Lights fundraiser, has been a cancer services volunteer for the Auxiliary for over 10 years. “I am sure that everyone of us knows someone whose life has been touched by cancer,” Bryan said. “We are very fortunate to have a first-class cancer center right here in Easton. It is critical that the equipment at the center is always state of the art. That is why the Auxiliary is asking for your help to raise the funds needed to purchase the quality assurance radiation monitor.”
Donations to the Auxiliary’s 25th Annual Tree of Lights fundraiser can be made by purchasing lights that illuminate the Memorial Hospital holiday tree. A one-season donation of $5 buys a red light to honor family members and friends, living or deceased, or a gold light to honor people serving in the military. A $100 contribution purchases a white Life Light, which will be lit each year. The names of the people honored will be displayed in the Memorial Hospital lobby throughout the holiday season.
Donation forms are available at the Memorial Hospital Information Desk, 219 S. Washington Street in Easton. For more information, call the Auxiliary office at 410-822-1000, ext. 5839.