Those who visited Spry Family Christmas Tree Farm in Cobourg on December 7 to get a fresh Christmas tree helped raise more than $40,000 for Northumberland County’s west-end hospital.
The Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) Foundation says the 10th annual event generated $42,357 for NHH, with 100 per cent of the proceeds donated directly to its 2024 “Light Up a Life” campaign.
“This result would not be possible without Sharron Wharram-Spry and Brian Spry, who have graciously hosted this family tradition in support of (the NHH Foundation) for a decade,” Megan Fluxgold, community engagement and events specialist, shared with kawarthaNOW on behalf of the NHH Foundation.
“We’d like to say a big thank you to the Spry family and to all the hardworking volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes year after year, and of course to our fantastic supporters from the community who came to hunt for their perfect tree over the years.”
The December 2024 event was the final annual fundraiser hosted by the Spry family. Their event has raised $214,000 during the past decade.
The money generated for this year’s Light Up a Life campaign will help purchase new hematology analyzers for the hospital’s laboratory, which is a department that provides service to all hospital in-patients, Fluxgold noted.
“Thank you to everyone for their support,” she added.
First introduced in 1994, the Light Up a Life campaign has raised more than $3.7 million over the years. It has helped pay for various pieces of equipment such as surgical scopes, anaesthetic machines, hospital beds, and NHH’s MRI machine.
As the December 7 event at Spry Family Christmas Tree Farm, community members were invited to hunt for their Christmas tree and take part in a variety of seasonal festivities. Santa and Mrs. Claus were on hand to pose for photos with attendees. Guests could enjoy chili, hot dogs, hot chocolate, coffee and treats and warm up around a warm bonfire.
Sponsors for this year’s event were Baker Tilly, Wharram Tree Service Ltd., Craft Food House, Ley Wealth Management, Neil Ganson – RBC Wealth Management, and Davey Tree Service.
