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Aug 18, 2023

'Lights of Hope' to be displayed in the borough Saturday

Candles light up Cameron Park during the 2021 Lights of Hope event in Sunbury. Dozens of Lights of Hope bags will be on display in Danville Saturday in honor of those who have been touched by cancer

Candles light up Cameron Park during the 2021 Lights of Hope event in Sunbury.

Dozens of Lights of Hope bags will be on display in Danville Saturday in honor of those who have been touched by cancer and in remembrance of those lost to the disease.

The nationwide event is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Within the Valley, the event will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at The Meadows at Maria Joseph Manor Community Center, 77 Tower View Circle in Danville, according to Donna Kemberling, organizer of the event.

Before the pandemic, the fundraiser was held in Washington, D.C., where volunteers would take the Lights of Hope bags to be displayed as part of the organization’s annual Leadership Summit and Lobby Day event. In 2020, when COVID-19 limited travel, Lights of Hope Across America came about, Kemberling said.

“Volunteers were asked to create displays in their home communities,” Kemberling said. “ACS CAN volunteers accepted this challenge and actually surpassed previous Lights of Hope fundraising levels.”

In the past, the local event was held in Cameron Park in Sunbury. Due to congressional redistricting, this year’s venue has changed to the Danville location, according to Kemberling.

The organizer said she was excited to see the event returning to the capital while also maintaining its presence across the nation.

“Lights of Hope Across America has been so successful that even though pandemic restrictions have been lifted and we are able to gather in Washington, D.C. again, the at home displays continue as well as the newly named HOPE Walk display held in Constitution Gardens,” Kemberling said.

Kemberling shared the reasoning behind her dedication to this event. In 2005, her husband passed away only three weeks after his sarcomatoid carcinoma diagnosis. The aggressive cancer took her husband’s life. Kemberling searched for a way to pay tribute to his memory.

“When I joined ACS CAN, I knew I had found what I was looking for, a means to influence change and impact the future of cancer, from gaining dramatic increases in funding for cancer research to ensuring all Americans have access to cancer care,” she said. “This helps me keep the promise I made to him before he passed away, that I would find a way to beat cancer. In a way, it gives purpose to his passing.”