Holiday Happenings at Lee Memorial Health Systems

The following are events associated with Lee Memorial Health System in celebration of the holiday season.  Please contact Kat Welch, Media Relations Specialist, at 239-454-8721, if you plan on covering any of these events or need more information.

·        The fourth annual Holiday Bear Hug is collecting entries now through Dec. 19. Leading community businesses and individuals have embraced this holiday event.  Participants are asked to visit Build-A-Bear Workshop at Coconut Point Mall where they will receive a 10% discount on their creation. Bring the bear to Holiday Inn Ft. Myers Airport to display your company’s “Holiday Bear Hug”. Bear builders will present their creations to judges during a celebration on Dec. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m.  Celebrity judges will present awards to the most original, most creative, and most huggable bears. Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.  Thirty to forty donated bears will be presented to patients at our children’s hospital on Dec. 20 as Christmas presents.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation. 

·        For several years the Naples Christian Academy Praise Team has been providing a delightful Christmas concert at HealthPark Medical Center.  The elite 14 student musical group consists of guitars, bass, xylophone, hand bells, steel drums, and keyboard, and  is scheduled to perform Nov. 28 at 10 a.m. for pediatrics, and 12 p.m. in the atrium.  Every year people stop to listen and dance to the music in the atrium as these students give of their talent to brighten someone else’s day.  It’s natural to want to give during this season.  Playing traditional carols to popular toe tapping sing-a-long songs is an easy way to share and bring smiles to a hospital atmosphere.

·        Lee Memorial Health System Military Support is collecting donations of goods for a group of 200 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan who are desolate and living without electricity.  These soldiers will be roughing it for the holidays as they protect our freedom to feast on holiday dinners and slumber in warm beds.  Donations of coffee, cookies, toiletries, magazines, pens, and other non-perishable items are being collected until Nov. 30th.  Written letters thanking the soldiers are also welcome.  A group of volunteers will gather on Dec. 4th to prepare and ship packages.