Continuing Dainere’s most inspiring legacy at Christmas Time to bring smiles, joy, hope and Christmas Spirit to the Community over the Festive Season, the Dainere’s Rainbow Christmas Lights of Hope and Joy 2020 took place from 1st to 24th December.
Due to the COVID pandemic, the lights had to take a very different form than in previous years, to keep those visiting the display safe and to meet local requirements there was signage, sanitiser, the display was roped off and Santa and Mrs Claus sadly were not able to visit the display.
Despite the challenges that 2020 brought everyone, the display was one that saw many excited families visit, some people who attend every year and others were new faces. There were expressions of joy, many smiles and gratitude as the lights shone ever so brightly across the Gungahlin landscape over December.
The Display still had some original lights and items that Dainere herself had made or purchased, along with some new additions to the display including the star attraction, a five metre tall inflatable reindeer. There was a craft and gift stall, activity packs for the children to take away with them and a new initiative of selecting a beautiful gift from a box and choosing what you would like to pay for it.
We wish to express our most sincere and humble gratitude to all those who visited the light display and commented on how special it was. The display was able to bring the precious gift of hope to children diagnosed with brain tumours through the kindness and generosity of those who made a donation, selected a gift or purchased from the stall.
Over the Christmas period Dainere’s Rainbow were overwhelmed and extremely touched to receive some extremely meaningful donations from an extraordinary family who chose to make a donation to a charity in lieu of gifts. They have a radiant light of human kindness burning ever so brightly within their hearts to do this.
After visiting the Christmas Lights Display and reading about Dainere’s story, three children Izaac, Madi and Alysha saved their coins and donated them in a Dainere’s Rainbow coin box they had received in activity packs with a card and beautiful message of “we hope the children suffering from brain cancer can also have a Merry Christmas and recover from their disease”.
Another incredible and caring lady who visited the display had been saving silver coins in a jar over the entire year. Another person with an enormous and giving heart.
Christmas Fundraising also included splendiferous Christmas Cards made by Patricia and Linda that were sold at the Light Display and also through the wonderful team at MEJ, and we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to them.
We are so grateful to announce that The Christmas Lights of Hope and Joy for 2020 raised the phenomenal total of $3016.25.
