Friend -

For the last two years, we’ve done something pretty special together to help bring light and cheer to a struggling community here in Hartford. My hope today is you’re up to help us do it once again this year.

The idea is to hang holiday lights on South Green in Hartford. It sits at a key crossroads, right next to one of the city’s biggest homeless shelters and a block away from Hartford Hospital, where our health care workers are still fighting the daily realities of COVID-19.

For two years running, countless people have told me how much the lights mean to them. It may seem like a little thing, but in an often-forgotten neighborhood like South Green, a little holiday spirit goes a long way. It picks people up, and it tells kids that no matter their lot in life, we value them and they deserve joy.

But I can’t do this without you. It costs money to put up this many lights, and it is your small contributions that make this possible. You can see a glimpse of how magical it looks below. We’ve partnered with the local Spanish American Merchants Association to be our sponsoring non-profit, so if you can spare a donation to help us provide some holiday cheer, it’d mean a lot to me.

Remember the major holiday light displays in your town that made you so wide-eyed as a kid? Remember how that made you feel? That’s why we started to light up the South Green to turn it into a marvel of sparkle and twinkle.

I know holiday lights cannot solve all of our problems. But sometimes it’s worthwhile to invest in a project that just makes people smile or makes a neighborhood feel special.

Seeing the sparks in kids’ eyes and the smiles on their faces when they see lights is a reminder that the whimsical, silly things matter too. For families facing tough times, health care workers after a tough day, and housing insecure individuals, this is something that can bring joy.

So I want to make it happen again, but I need your help to raise the money to do it. We’ve got the logistics nailed down — and again, we call in the professionals for these lights. My handiwork doesn’t extend beyond a simple tree. So the lights are ready to go up as soon as we fund the project.

If you can afford it, consider making a donation today to help us light the trees on the South Green in Hartford. Every dollar will go directly toward bringing a bit more light into the lives of others this season.

I hope you and your loved ones have a joyful and safe holiday season.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy

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