Sainte-Justine's 8th annual Christmas Tree Campaign is inviting Quebecers to illuminate a symbol of hope!

Let's join forces to illuminate 100,000 lights representing a beacon of hope in the lives of young patients and their families during the holidays.

MONTREAL, Nov. 30, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - The CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation, along with partners Rythme FM and Metro grocery stores in Quebec, is launching Sainte-Justine's eighth annual Christmas Tree Campaign. For the occasion, Quebecers are invited to illuminate a record number of 100,000 lights on the giant evergreen standing proudly in front of the hospital.

Starting this evening, and continuing daily until the final illumination ceremony on December 10^th, the giant tree will be lit progressively according to the number of lights purchased.  Sold for $5 a piece at legrandsapin.org, each light on the Christmas Tree represents a beacon of hope and sends a message of love and comfort for young patients and their families who are spending the holidays at Sainte-Justine.

Metro, the main campaign partner, is asking customers to make a donation when checking out of any of the grocery chain's 207 stores across the province until December 10. "Again this year, we are inviting our customers throughout Quebec to donate generously to this campaign, which corresponds to our values and our social mission to support communities where we operate. Nearly 36,000 beacons of hope were illuminated in 2014 thanks to this association, and we are committed to offer this year, with our employees and customers, a Christmas Tree brighter than ever," said Marie-Claude Bacon, Senior Director, Corporate Affairs Department.

Rythme FM, the official broadcaster and the driving force behind the Christmas Tree Campaign, and hosts Véronique Cloutier, Marie-Soleil Michon, Julie Bélanger, Jean-François Baril, Saskia Thuot, Sébastien Benoît, Mitsou Gélinas and Mario Lirette, will be appealing to their audience to make as many lights twinkle as possible. Throughout the campaign the illumination ceremony will be covered daily at 4 p.m., in particular during Le Véro show aired from Monday to Thursday. "Our staff and our listeners have always been outstanding ambassadors of Sainte-Justine's Christmas Tree Campaign. Most of them are also parents and have this campaign at heart. We are confident that their dedication to the cause will allow us to achieve this ambitious goal," said Johanne Cloutier, Programming Director and Assistant General Manager of Rythme FM 105.7.

Make the holidays a little bit brighter for families with a sick child
Remaining at the bedside of a sick child often means having to miss work, and sometimes even face a job loss. Every year, a portion of the proceeds from this initiative is directed to Sainte-Justine's social services to assist hundreds of families of sick children who are struggling to make ends meet. 

Since 2007, Quebecers have brightened up the holiday sky by illuminating nearly 500,000 lights through the Christmas Tree Campaign.

About the CHU SainteJustine Foundation
The Foundation's mission is to engage the community and support CHU Sainte-Justine in its pursuit of excellence and its commitment to providing the children and mothers of today and tomorrow with one of the highest levels of healthcare in the world. fondationsaintejustine.org/en/

For more information on SainteJustine's Christmas Tree Campaign, visit  legrandsapin.org, follow us on Twitter (hashtag #legrandsapin), check out the Foundation's Facebook page or visit Rythme FM's website (rythmefm.com) or Facebook page.

Watch the Sainte-Justine's Christmas Tree video : www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K0UklueC_8

SOURCE CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation

Video with caption: "Video: CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K0UklueC_8

Image with caption: "Rear: Yordan Martinez, Jean-Yves Lemay, Julie Desjardins, Bruno Morissette, Francisco Randez, Marie-Soleil Michon, Véronique Cloutier, Sébastien Benoit, Rythme FM, Nicolas Noël, Justin Robinson, Sophie Vermeersch, MEGA Bloks, Marie-Claude Bacon, Metro and Isabelle Demers, CHU Sainte-Justine. Front: Dominic Hudson, Philippe Pépin, Annie Brocoli, Léa, campaign ambassador and Maud Cohen, CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation. (CNW Group/CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151130_C5236_PHOTO_EN_555258.jpg

Image with caption: "Launch of the 8th edition of Sainte-Justine’s Christmas Tree with all partners, Rythme FM, Metro and MEGA Bloks, members of the direction of CHU Sainte-Justine and its Foundation and the campaign ambassador, Léa, 7 years old, who spent 3 Christmas at Sainte-Justine, and all her friends of Externat Mont-Jésus-Marie. (CNW Group/CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151130_C5236_PHOTO_EN_555256.jpg

Geneviève Clément Communications, 514.609.5444, [email protected]