Community Access

Community Access

Community Access

 

The Grand Finale of Cheshire's Lights of Hope

Since 2005, Cheshire's neighbors have turned to each other to raise money for local charities, raising more than $1,085,000. The now-annual Cheshire's Lights of Hope event has brought together neighbors to help neighbors all with the simple act of lighting a single candle in a bag and illuminating our wonderful town. Upwards of 100 volunteers turn out every year to bring the event to fruition. From street captains to cleanup crew, the town has made this event its own and has helped hundreds of area families.

This year will be the final Cheshire's Lights of Hope event and will be held on Saturday, November 12. We are working hard to go out big!

People can order luminaries for our event online here

or buy them at the following places:

  • RW Hine Ace Hardware
  • Cheshire Nursery
  • Main Street Caffe

There will also be selling luminaries on the town green on the day of the event.

A statement from Don Walsh, Cheshire's Lights of Hope Founder: 

Cheshire’s Lights of Hope began in 2005 as a local event created to bring together our neighbors. Two years later, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, my wife, Jenifer, and I made Cheshire’s Lights of Hope a town-wide luminary event.

Every November for the past 17 years, our event has grown. Together we have raised $1.1 million for local charities and students in the Cheshire community. The Cheshire Community Food Pantry, Cheshire Youth and Social Services, and The Petit Family Foundation have been the main recipients. We are also proud of the two, $2,000 scholarships we have presented annually to Cheshire students based on their volunteer work within the community.

The simple act of gathering neighbors and lighting a luminary has had a significant impact on our community. That is why it is with extremely mixed feelings that we have made the difficult decision to announce that this year’s luminary event on November 12, 2022, will be the final one for our organization.

We have met with the Board of Directors and explained that the time commitment is incredible, and we feel that we have given as much as we possibly can to the organization.

It is a challenging decision because we are concerned about the organizations we have been supporting for many years and who rely on our grants so they can help those they work with.

It is our hope that other individuals or groups will step up to continue to support these worthwhile organizations.

We hope this year’s event will receive the full support of the community and be the largest to date. We want to present local community organizations with grants that will sustain them for a while.

We want to thank our Board of Directors, Executive Committee, the hundreds of selfless volunteers, and generous sponsors who have supported our mission of neighbors helping neighbors over these past 17 years. We never expected to have this impact on our community and hope we can leave a lasting legacy of volunteerism.


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