Luminarias to return for second year

Plans are underway in an effort to raise funds for the Good Samaritan Fund and honor family members during the holidays. The luminaria program will return for a second year to Emporia Presbyterian Manor.

“This is our second year to have the luminarias and is an exciting new project of Emporia Presbyterian Manor’s mission committee,” said John Sanderson, mission committee member. “Our goal is to raise awareness and funds for the Good Samaritan Program, a PMMA program which residents who have outlived their financial resources by no fault of their own.”

If you are not familiar with a luminaria, the luminarias consist of Ball® jars filled with small lights and a photocell battery on the lid that absorbs that sun’s rays during the day and turns the lights on at night. The jars hang from shepherd hooks that are placed along the sidewalk on the southwest corner of campus. It’s beautiful to see the twinkling lights in the winter evening.

“We learned from a mistake last year—part of the ground was frozen solid when we started putting in the hooks. It was hard to put them in. This year, we’ll put them in earlier so they’re better anchored,” said John.

The luminarias can be purchased for $25 each to honor a loved one. A tag is placed on each luminaria to personalize it with the honored name.

“Last year was the first year, and we didn’t have a lot of publicity, but we had over 150 luminaries sponsored. This year our goal is to have more than 200. The season is a wonderful reason to raise awareness and funds for this amazing cause. Our purpose on the committee is to help the mission grow and sustain so that residents can benefit for years to come.” said John.

While adding beauty to the campus and raising money for a good cause, the project has also been a bonding experience for the mission committee.

“It’s a fun project because the mission committee rallied together to roll up our sleeves and assemble the luminarias and hang them. The employees were terrific in helping us with this project, too, particularly the groundskeepers,” said John.

To purchase a luminaria, contact Crystal at 620-343-2613 or stop by the front desk. You can even go online to EmporiaPresbyterianManor.org and click “To Give.” Your support will go to a very worthy cause—one that has allowed PMMA to proudly say it has never asked a resident to leave based on their inability to pay.

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