For the past eight years, the volunteers at Nash Health Care have held an annual “Lights of Love” honor and remembrance ceremony, donating the proceeds from the event toward hospital projects that help the entire community. This year, the Lights of Love proceeds will go toward the new Pediatric Emergency Care Center. The Auxiliary has pledged $5,000 a year for the next four years from the Lights of Love project toward the Pediatric Emergency Care Center.

For $5, a light for a Christmas tree may be purchased in memory or honor of someone. The trees will be on display in the hospital lobby throughout the holiday season. In addition, the names of those people who are represented by a light on the tree will be written in a Book of Remembrance, which will also be on display. These names will be read at a special tree-lighting ceremony held on Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. Because the names will be listed in alphabetical order, the deadline for purchasing a light is Nov. 25.

“Community support is vital to the success of this endeavor,” said longtime Nash Health Care volunteer Jackie Ward. “It is truly a beautiful project and the participation from the community and Nash Health Care employees has been wonderful.”

If you would like to honor or remember someone with a light on the Lights of Love tree, please contact the Volunteer Office at 962-8118 or Jackie Ward at 443-2684 for a form.

The Nash Health Care Foundation is conducting a capital campaign to raise money for a new Pediatric Emergency Care Center that will be on the Nash Health Care campus. This center will have a separate entrance for young patients, and provide additional security and comfort for children who need emergency treatment. Currently, 20 percent of those seen at Nash Health Care’s emergency room are under the age of 17, as compared to the nationwide average of 10 percent. The hospital’s current Emergency Care Center, which treats both children and adults, was designed to accommodate 40,000 patient visits a year. Last year, the Emergency Care Center treated more than 65,000 patients, making it one of the five busiest emergency departments in North Carolina.

For more information on the Nash Health Care Volunteer Auxiliary, the Nash Health Care Foundation, or the new Pediatric Emergency Care Center, visit the website www.nhcs.org.