The two-fold yuletide celebration of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Celebration features an Open House Weekend, Nov. 18-20, and continues Dec. 2 with a lighted procession of holiday floats, costumed characters and marching bands.
New this year, the six-time festival underwriter, Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, will be launching an event of its own, as it brings the Borgess Tree of Love campaign to Cass County as a means to help the uninsured.
The joint announcement of the hospital’s $2,000 corporate donation wasmade by Joy A. Strand, administrator and chief operating officer of Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, and Vickie Phillipson, program director for the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority (DDA), who coordinated Open House activities and raised monies to fund the $7,100 community celebration.
On behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, Phillipson expressed her appreciation to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital and to the corporate sponsors of the celebration, which also include long-time corporate donors Matthew Cripe Dental P.C., and Dr. Charles Burling and Dr. Jon Gillesby, along with Family Fare, Leader Publications and The Timbers of Cass County.
“We are very pleased that the Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce has added our Borgess Tree of Love lighting ceremony to its Old-Fashioned Christmas Celebration,” Strand said.
“A warm invitation is extended to everyone who would like to join Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital in Farr Park on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m.”
Donors can honor someone special by making a donation to the Borgess Tree of Love campaign.
“For every $8 donation, an uninsured woman in Cass County can receive free mammography services at our hospital,” Strand said.
“Approximately 20 percent of the women who live in the Dowagiac area cannot afford the insurance coverage or the expense to get a potentially life-saving mammogram. The Borgess Tree of Love program will make
mammography services available to these women at no cost, right here in Dowagiac.”
In addition to debuting this new event, which will be of great benefit to the community, Strand said Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital is also the sponsor and co-host of the Candlelight Christmas Parade and the return of this year’s pre-parade entertainment.