It’s a staple of the Vancouver holiday season now; but, two decades ago, St. Paul’s Hospital launched its Lights of Hope display with less than a thousand lights and a simple goal: to raise funds for patient care.
The display has grown by leaps and bounds since its earliest edition (to more than 100,000 lights this year, spanning 10 kilometres), as has the amount of money raised: from $70,000 in 1998 to a whopping total of $31 million over the two decades – and every single penny has gone directly into patient care, says Dick Vollet, president and CEO of the St. Paul’s Foundation.
Lights of Hope funds everything from urgently needed equipment and research, to community programs, waiting room enhancements and art classes, notes Vollet. “We take care of some of the things that maybe people don’t think about, but are appreciative of when they have to go to the hospital,” says Vollet.
“Lights of Hope is one of those things that really impacts not only the people who are in the hospital at the time of the lights being put up, but also throughout the year.”
The premise of Lights of Hope – adorn the hospital with lights; seek sponsorships and donations; fund life-saving programs – is deceptively simple. It requires year-round planning, says Vollet, and wouldn’t be possible without the companies and organizations who sponsor the 200 stars and donate labour and critical items like scaffolding (B.C. Place even donates its playing field for the foundation to lay out and test all of the lights), as well as the hundreds of volunteers who return each year to unbox, sort, test, string up and ultimately take down the lights.
Annette Hurd is one such volunteer. Hurd held the position of Lights of Hope logistics manager from 2000-2009; her daughter, Jamie, is now the logistics manager, and Annette continues to volunteer her time, in large part because both of her children were born at St. Paul’s.
“I’m proud to be part of such a great event and a fundraiser that does so much good for the hospital and everybody who needs to go there,” says Hurd, who adds that you don’t need to contribute money in order to make a difference. “Yes, of course, the money is needed, but the help is also needed, and that’s how anybody can be a part of it. If you want to come and help, please do.”
Lights of Hope’s celebration day (which this year falls on Nov. 16) tends to be an especially magical day, says Hurd, who describes people setting up lawn chairs across the street in front of the old 7-11 to watch the hospital’s transformation in real time. Celebration day has grown to become something of a street party in recent years, with food trucks, hot chocolate, fireworks and choirs. “When those lights go on and everything’s working, that’s pretty special, and everybody that has worked on it gives themselves a pat on the back because, really, look what we’ve done,” says Hurd.
Of course, work doesn’t stop once they switch on the lights. Maintenance is a huge issue, especially in a city where “there are a lot of bad rain storms, and electricity and rain don’t usually work well together, so there’s a lot of daily upkeep,” says Hurd.
One thing that they haven’t experienced is a lot of vandalism, and Hurd suspects that’s because “people respect [the lights]. It’s not just somebody putting a lot of lights in their yard. It’s there for a reason. It’s to help everybody. We raise money to buy equipment and everybody at one time in their life may be using that hospital, or they know someone who has used it.”
St. Paul’s Hospital is slated to relocate to an 18.5-acre property in False Creek Flats (exact date TBD), but the move won’t spell the end of Lights of Hope, says Vollet. “Obviously it will transform and look a little different, but we have big plans to help keep Lights of Hope alive and take it to the next level,” he says.
• Lights of Hope runs Nov.16-Jan. 9. For information, visit lightsofhope.com.
