Information about Lights for Linda: lightsforlinda.blogspot.com.
For the last three years, the night before Christmas in the Summer Grove community has taken on a particularly magical glow. That’s when residents of this Newnan neighborhood set out luminary sand bags along streets and driveways. But the lights represent more than just a charming effect; they show the residents’ support of a worthy cause.
The luminaries, dubbed Lights for Linda, are a remembrance of a resident Nancy Sanker’s sister who died of lymphocytic leukemia at 51. Sanker wanted a way to honor her sibling’s 19-year health battle and hit on the idea of decorating the neighborhood with luminaries in her memory.
“We banded with her,” said neighbor and friend Eve Long. “We didn’t really know what we were doing, but we said we’d help.”
A volunteer team of six friends came up with a plan to sell luminary kits to Summer Grove residents. The team paid for the candles, bags and sand out of their own pockets and accepted $20 donations for kits of eight lights. All the donations went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“The first year, we didn’t even keep track, but we think we raised about $1,500,” said Long. “And that amount has grown every year.”
For the last four years, neighbors have started ordering their luminary kits around Thanksgiving.
“They can order as many as they want through our website,” said Long. “Then several of us get together for a day at Nancy’s home to assemble the orders. We actually have a ball. It takes about an hour and half, and our husbands - known as the ‘sandmen’ - are in the garage scooping the sand into plastic bags. Then we have soup and muffins. It’s a happy project.”
Last week, the team stood in the parking lot of the Summer Grove Town Hall and handed 174 kits to residents. Many of the neighbors offered more than the suggested $20 price, bringing the amount raised to about $3,500. And for the first time this year, the small band of volunteers reached beyond their neighborhood for support, and with a cash gift from Toyota of Newnan, they expect to write a donation check for $4,000.
In addition to making a substantial gift to the a charity, the candles were sold in honor of the memory of another Summer Grove resident, Madeline McTier, a 17-year-old who died of brain cancer in September.
“We asked her mother if we could honor her this year, and she agreed,” said Long. “It’s just another way this project gets bigger and better every year. The neighbors look forward to it and tell us they’re glad we’re doing it. It’s great to have the community get behind it. It makes you feel like you’re part of a good story.”
Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 770- 744-3042.
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