Every Christmas season for the past 30-plus years, Sampson Regional Medical Center has lit up a special tree that honors or memorializes loved ones with each shining light.
The Tree of Love is lit the first Sunday in December during a family-friendly event full of activities and holiday spirit, meaning this year’s event is this Sunday, Dec. 7, on the front lawn of the hospital.
“Each light [is] representative of a tribute gift made in honor or memory of someone special,” the hospital’s website explains. “This treasured tradition features a beautiful light display of 25 Tribute Trees alongside the large Tree of Love on the hospital front lawn.”
The trees will remain illuminated throughout the holiday season, and are a way to not only remember loved ones, but also to support the community’s hospital as well.
The Tree of Love began as an annual project of the SRMC Foundation, originally started by the Sampson County Medical Society Alliance. The hospital foundation took over the Tree of Love project in 2006, and since then, more than $200,000 has been raised to support various hospital projects, including medical equipment and renovations.
In honor of the hospital’s 75th anniversary, this year’s Tree of Love will raise funds to directly benefit the hospital’s operating room with the purchase of a new ultrasound machine, which will enable physicians to view real-time images during procedures, thus improving accuracy and patient safety.
“These upgrades mean more lives saved, faster recoveries, and the ability to provide the highest standard of care right here in Sampson County,” Director of Business Development Madison Harbin told The Sampson Independent in November.
SRMC is one of very few remaining independent hospitals in North Carolina. That means that our local hospital does not rely on a healthcare corporation for funding. Instead, it must rely on the community surrounding it to ensure that it can continue to provide quality, state-of-the-art care to all area citizens.
It’s admirable that SRMC has been able to remain independent for 75 years now. Even in the ever-changing landscape of North Carolina, where so many rural hospitals have joined far-reaching corporations like UNC or ECU Health, our hospital remains on its own. But of course, it can only continue to do so with the community’s support.
So, not only is the Tree of Love a remarkable celebration of the holiday season, it’s also, in many ways, an effort to keep our hospital locally owned and operated. When you gaze upon the sparkling lights of the trees along the hospital’s front lawn on Beaman Street, keep in mind that, like the hospital itself, these shining decorations wouldn’t be there without you, the community. And you can honor or memorialize a loved one at the same time, making the Christmas decorations even more meaningful.
We encourage you to support the Tree of Love if you are able, by donating at www.sampsonrmc.org/treeoflove. It’ll help make this magical season even more special.