Light Up A Life event remembers loved ones
Loved ones were remembered in Oban last week at the town’s annual Light Up A Life event.
More than £7,000 has been raised so far – and rising – by the Friends of Oban Hospice event in aid of the Dove Centre in Stevenson Street.
A total of 8,370 subscription forms were sent out inviting people to make a donation in return for the names of their loved ones being recorded in a special book available for viewing throughout the year at the centre.
The Rotary Club of Oban handed over a cheque for £1,000 to help cover the cost of printing the forms, the envelopes and the postage this year.
During Tuesday evening’s event, sparkling lights were switched on in a tree outside the Corran Halls as another poignant act of remembrance along with music, singing from the Lorn Chorus and Kneale Smith from Seil Sound, a piper playing and a poem being read by the Rotary Club of Oban president Iain MacIntyre, who is also chairman of the friends, the fundraising arm of the hospice.
Pastor Stuart Lawson from Oban Baptist Church read an inspirational prayer and those gathered heard personal experiences from two men whose lives had been transformed by seeking help from the Dove Centre.
Chairman of the Oban Hospice board David Entwistle paid tribute to everyone who helped create ‘the little miracle’ of the Dove Centre 12 months ago in ‘this little town of Oban’.
He said it was ‘a community resource’ belonging to the people, fundraised for by the Friends of Oban Hospice for the past 15 to 20 years.
He also mentioned the Oban Hospice board members, who give support on financial and administrative matters – he said they had now become an employer with a centre manager and community support worker in post.
And he thanked all the tradespeople, businesses, volunteers and the general public who had given skills, time and money to the Dove Centre to make it happen and to keep it going.