A 25-year Putnam General Hospital holiday tradition will be lighting up the lives of local individuals with the Love Lite Tree.

The tree, which is lit up at PGH each year with a celebration that rings in the holiday season, will feature ornaments that represent individuals who have been honored or memorialized by way of donation.

Donations, big and small, are accepted for the event and individuals may choose to donate in honor of someone, in memory of someone, to recognize a military service member or may simply just choose to donate without any sort of recognition of another individual.

Different colored ornaments represent each category, with red ornaments for those whom are honored, green ornaments for those whom are memorialized, blue ornaments for those whom are honored as military service members or yellow for those who wish to make a donation without any sort of recognition.

The tree is then lit up in the annual Love Lite Tree Celebration, which is complete with carolers and refreshments for all to enjoy.

This year’s Love Lite Tree Celebration will take place on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.

The event, which is put on by the Putnam General Hospital Auxiliary each year, helps the hospital raise money, said Putnam General Hospital Public Relations representative Heather Dodson.

“It’s an annual event that our auxiliary puts on each year to raise money for the hospital,” said Dodson. “We have a tree in the front of the hospital and the event is the lighting of the tree.”

To participate, interested individuals need only inquire at the hospital, Farmer’s & Merchants bank, or People’s Bank, for a pink slip to fill out in order to make a donation.

Following the donation, those whom have been honored will receive a notice in the mail that they have been honored on this year’s PGH Love Lite Tree.

In addition to raising money for the hospital, the event can also make a different in someone’s life that may be feeling down or lonely, especially during the holiday season.

“It’s a good time,” said Dodd of the celebration.  “And I think it’s a good thing to let people know that they were thinking about them or caring about them.  Things like that can really help someone out, especially around the holidays.  I think it makes people feel good.”

No donation is too small or too big, said Dodson, and your donation could be the difference in someone’s life.

This year, the tree will put a special focus on honoring and supporting all veterans, especially active duty military personnel deployed to foreign lands fighting and at home.

For more information on the Love Lite Tree or to inquire about making a donation, please call Dodson at (706) 923-2028.