Candles for Hope 2011

((This is a re-post from last year, but the message is still the same: the deadline for purchasing your luminary kits is TODAY … check your mailbox for the order form or call The Center For Hope at 203-655-4693 to make arrangements.  Don’t be a dark house this holiday season!! ))

Those of you who have lived here at least a year have probably already experienced how magical that December Sunday evening is in Darien when everybody sets little paper bags with candles inside them outside the front of their home … but it occurred to me when the order form appeared in my mailbox last week that those of you who are new to town (or visiting from another) may not be aware of their significance.

The evening is part of the Center For Hope’s annual fundraising event called Hope Lights Lives.  Each year, on a designated Sunday evening close to Christmas (this year, 2011: it is Dec 11th), participating homes set these luminaries out along their driveways and front lawn, light them at 5pm, and let them stay lit into the evening.  When the weather permits, it is a wonderful evening to take a stroll around the neighborhood or a drive around town to enjoy the effect.

The Center For Hope is such an important support system for our community, and frankly something I think most of us hope we will never need.   But when I drive through our neighborhoods every year on that quiet December Sunday evening to enjoy yard and driveway after yard and driveway lit up and creating a romantic glow across the neighborhood, I say a prayer for the children and families who are in need of Hope and am glad the Center is there for them.

So here’s an Insider tip: don’t be one of the dark houses.  The luminary kits are only $25 each and are delivered to you by volunteers in time for December 11th.  To find out how to get yours, call the Center for Hope at 203-655-4693.

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• Tags: Christmas in Darien, fundraisers, Local Orgs