Let the countdown begin!
Cheshire will be lit up for the now signature Lights of Hope event on Saturday, November 6, 2010. The event has been moved to the fall to avoid the bitterly cold weather that made volunteer efforts so difficult last January. And with proceeds benefiting the newly created Cheshire Community Food Pantry as well as Cheshire Youth & Social Services, the event will be a fitting grand finale to the town’s annual food drive staged on the town green.
It’s hard to believe how much time and energy goes into planning the event, but the most important effort right now is identifying street captains for all 475 of Cheshire’s streets. To date, over 200 have signed on to contact their neighbors and sell luminary kits. Our luminary supplier has given us a strict September deadline and we sold out quickly last year. Street captains need only take orders for the luminary kits $10 for 10) from their neighbors and then distribute the luminary kits in advance of November 6th.
Since its inception in 2005, Cheshire’s Lights of Hope has raised over $260,000 for local charities. 100% of proceeds raised are returned to the community. This year’s beneficiaries are the Cheshire Community Food Pantry, Cheshire Youth & Social Services, the Petit Family Foundation and the Cheshire’s Lights of Hope Scholarship Fund.
High school students are encouraged to earn community service hours volunteering for the event. Email captains@cheshireslightsofhope.com, or call 203-439-0687 for more information.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Pettinicchi, a member of the Cheshire High School’s Class of 2010 as the 2010 Cheshire’s Lights of Hope scholarship winner. Elizabeth earned $2500 for her volunteerism in the Cheshire community. Her efforts supporting the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life played a significant role in the scholarship committee’s selection of her application for the award. Elizabeth is joined by her parents Anna and Robert and Cheshire’s Lights of Hope Committee members Jenifer Walsh, Edmonde Bernier and Debbie Hajjar.
