ORANGE : Tree-Lighting Rites to Benefit Hospices

St. Joseph’s Hospital will host its annual “Light up a Life” tree-lighting ceremony Sunday to benefit the hospice program for terminally ill patients.

Since 1983, donors to the hospice program have purchased about 2,000 lights each year to decorate the 45-foot tree in the park near the hospital’s administration building. The lights are bought as a remembrance of a loved one or to honor a living family member, friend or colleague.

“What we hear from people is that this is a wonderful way to open the holiday season and get into the spirit of Christmas,” said Lee Ann Donaldson, founder of the event and the hospital’s director of community outreach and counseling services.

In addition to the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m., a quartet of carolers in Victorian costume will lead the audience in seasonal songs, Donaldson said.

Hospice programs in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties began the tree-lighting tradition to help pay for counseling and other services to families who care for a terminally ill relative at home.

Last year, “Light up a Life” raised $69,000 for St. Joseph’s from more than 1,200 donors. Lights on the tree can be purchased for $20, $150 or $250. This year donors can become a “friend of hospice for life” with a contribution of $1,000. Lights can be purchased through Jan. 1, Donaldson said.