For the second year in a row, students from private schools across Quebec will be kicking off our signature holiday fundraiser: the Sainte-Justine Tree of Lights. From now until November 28, they will be pulling out all the stops to light up the base of the Tree as part of a heartfelt outpouring of love and support for the patients, families and staff of Sainte-Justine.
Energized by the success of last year’s efforts, students from private schools across Quebec will be doing their part to light up the base of the Sainte-Justine Tree of Lights. Because there is nothing more powerful than youth helping youth.
2020: An Auspicious Start
Last year, youth helped make the 2020 Tree of Lights shine like never before, proving unequivocally that if you can dream it, you can do it. With your help, students made 108,946 lights glisten on the Tree, double the original campaign goal. That translated to $544,730 in donations, representing an unprecedented show of kindness and goodwill.
Through the Sainte-Justine Youth Tree of Lights, Quebec’s family of private schools can reaffirm our support for Sainte-Justine and highlight the values we hold dear — determination, creativity and excellence.
2021: Taking Things to the Next Level with Laurent
Once again this year, private school students will be taking part in this all-digital fundraising campaign, inviting the people in their community to light up the first 100,000 bulbs on the Tree, in exchange for a donation of $5 apiece. They will draw inspiration from our 2021 ambassadors: Laurent and Dr. Michel Lallier, respectively a patient and a physician at Sainte-Justine.
Laurent’s story is one of resilience and courage. In September 2014, Laurent complained to his parents about a stomach ache. When the pain hadn’t subsided a few days later, they knew something was wrong and headed straight to Sainte-Justine. Within hours of his arrival, they received the diagnosis: liver cancer.
The expertise of pediatric surgeon Dr. Michel Lallier was critical for Laurent. Dr. Lallier has saved the lives of hundreds of children through organ transplants. Known for his trademark bowties and colourful glasses, he is one of only a handful of specialists in Quebec to perform in vivo reduced size liver transplantation, a very demanding procedure in which a portion of a liver from a living adult donor is transplanted to a pediatric recipient. On December 25, 2014, he gave Laurent the best gift of all: a brand-new liver.
Today, after two liver transplants and a subsequent tumour in his lungs, Laurent is enjoying life as a healthy 16-year-old. And he has the expert teams at Sainte-Justine and the wonders of precision medicine to thank for it. He is currently enrolled at Collège Sainte-Anne and will be joining his fellow students in contributing to the Tree of Lights campaign.
The second annual Tree of Lights campaign is officially on!
Catherine Brunet and Pascal Morrissette are back as our campaign ambassadors: they will cheer participating students on and encourage them to give it their all for Sainte-Justine. Now it’s over to you: when you sponsor 10 or more lights on the Tree of Lights, our Twinkle Club partners, Engel & Völkers and McGill Real Estate, will top up your generous contribution by adding 5 more* up to a maximum of $15,000.
When our youth shine, our entire society shines. With their support — and yours, the Tree of Lights will once again be a beacon of hope for Sainte-Justine.
