Phoenix Children’s Hospital Ignite Hope event goes virtual in 2020
Nov 28, 2020, 6:30 AM
(Courtesy photo/Phoenix Children's)
(Courtesy photo/Phoenix Children's)
PHOENIX — Phoenix Children’s Hospital is not letting the coronavirus pandemic extinguish the light as the annual Ignite Hope celebration will go virtual in 2020.
The Ignite Hope candlelit holiday walk and celebration in traditional years features people holding lights outside Phoenix Children’s Hospital to spread encouragement and warmth for patients and families undergoing treatment, according to a press release.
In the new virtual format for 2020, which will take place on Dec. 12, people can register online and for $25 receive a two-pack of Ignite Hope battery-operated candles and 10 luminarias to light at home.
“Ignite Hope is a Phoenix Children’s tradition that the community needs now more than ever,” Steve Schnall, senior vice president and chief development officer at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation, said in the release.
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“This is the perfect way to feel a sense of community from the safety of your own home and neighborhood while bringing joy to the faces of the kids at our hospital.”
People can also pledge to fundraise for the Hope Fund, which helps the hospital cover urgent needs like new technology, research initiatives and charitable care, according to the release.
The tradition started in 2012 when the friends and family of 15-year-old Katie Wagner held a candlelight vigil outside her hospital window at Phoenix Children’s when she was diagnosed with cancer.
She passed away a year later with the candlelight tradition living on in her memory while raising funds for Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
