Simsbury Lights up the Night

It was Mother Theresa who once said: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." And Simsbury is. The First Annual Luminary Night is turning out to be a night of small things done with great love that have grown into bigger things.

"From the moment Luminary Night popped into my head, I felt in my heart it would be a success. I knew we had the momentum and energy to move forward" said Donna Donegan, hospitality chairperson for the Simsbury Junior Woman's Club, organizer of the event.

It started out with a good idea from Simsbury mom, Donna Donegan, who had been a part of a Luminary Night in another town. She got to know a family in Simsbury with a boy about her own children's age. The boy, Paxton Holmes, 7, has a rare disease and needs a liver transplant. For the Holmes family, this means they are always on call, always waiting for the moment to come when his health will be made better.

The Holmes' story was told from one person to the next. Each person who heard it wanted to help in some way. Some people were willing to raise money by selling luminary kits to people in their neighborhood. Some were willing to help assemble the kits, and some donated bags and stickers for the kits.

And others — many, many others — bought the kits and lit the candles last night to put in their driveways or walkways in support of a family they may not know, but wanted to help. 

Together Gina Eddy, Roni Grossman, Lynne Cefole and Sara Mogck, and Donegan worked to develop literature and marketing materials, secured supplies and created an online ordering link, and organized assembly and delivery of the luminaries. 

But there were more people who got involved. "I think my favorite part of Luminary Night has been that it is a project brought to the town of Simsbury by the SJWC, but it has been an inclusive and collective event. Everyone has been welcome to participate. Everyone has chosen to participate for their own personal reason" said Donegan.

Local businesses like  and  teamed up to donate all of the delivery bags and 11,000 deli containers. Many Simsbury residents acted as neighborhood captains, encouraging neighbors to participate. The Rotary Club, dentist offices, schools and other small businesses have also found ways to contribute. The loaned its bus so that the Holmes family and friends could be driven around from neighborhood to neighborhood to see the support.   

"I am excited about the sense of community I have felt in my own neighborhood" said Mogck, co-president with Cefole of the Juniors. "I have lived here over seven years and there are some neighbors I have never met, yet they are participating. It is an event for everyone: people with kids, empty nesters, young couples.

The Mogck family invited neighbors to their house for hot chocolate and cookies.  "At a time when we often don't see one another because of the cold, it is also a great opportunity to connect."

Grossman, Juniors vice president said, "The spirit of community that I have felt participating in the process of Luminary Night has given me exactly what I needed this Christmas season. It took all of the emphasis off of the things and the presents and put the focus back where it should be."

She wasn't alone as people walked in their neighborhoods and waved to one another, braving the cold night to see the lights all down their street.

"It is really pretty, and I am glad it is successful" said Bob Shea of 5 Musket Trail. "I just hope it makes a dent in the overall costs."

The cost of a transplant can exceed $500,000. An estimated $75,000 is being raised by Simsbury volunteers, with $20,000 of that coming from the selling of the luminaries (and private donations). 

"I can't imagine anything more beautiful than the town of Simsbury united in the glow of candlelight. I know the Holmes family will feel the embrace of the community as they drive through Simsbury tonight. My wish is that this becomes an annual tradition" said Donegan.

"Luminary Night has been good for the heart," said Mogck. "Most important of all, it is going to be a great pleasure to hand over a sizable check to a wonderful family and one of the most loving and dynamic little boys I have ever met."

And so, this is the town we live in, a town where more than 800 people gave a bit of themselves to help someone else and in so doing, lit up the night.