Luminaria Night raises $1M for New Bethany Ministries
Luminaria Night, the bright idea of three Bethlehem neighbors 22 years ago, passed $1 million raised for the nonprofit New Bethany Ministries.
New Bethany officials, the fundraiser’s founders and volunteers marked the milestone Saturday in donated space at a Bethlehem business park that serves as the luminaria distribution center. Then they hit the road to begin delivering the 100,000 candles and white bags of sand needed for the event next Saturday.
Joanne Anderson, a Luminaria Night founder and a New Bethany board member, said the fundraiser has endured not only because of the beautiful spectacle it creates of neighborhoods aglow but also because it helps the poor, hungry and homeless.
New Bethany strives to fill not just basic needs but to give clients “the ability to be the same as everybody else,” she said, offering such things as Thanksgiving dinners and allowing people to choose their own food in New Bethany’s food pantry in south Bethlehem.
Anderson, DeAnn Artim and Donna Acerra came upon the idea of selling illuminated bags as a fundraiser as a way to meet their neighbors and then donated the money to a local family in need.
From there, the light in their neighborhood spread to the adjacent blocks. The proceeds were donated to New Bethany for a couple of years and then after 9/11, to the Port Authority Police World Trade Center Disaster Survivors Fund. For the last 16 years, New Bethany Ministries has been the group’s beneficiary.
This year, 300 volunteers sorted and bagged four tons of sand that will be distributed to more than 4,500 households in Bethlehem and other parts of the Lehigh Valley.
The fundraiser is expected to bring in more than $100,000 to New Bethany, a $1.7 million-ayear operation. This year, New Bethany debuted its digital food pantry, a technology-driven pantry where clients can choose the food they want, and the Diane Elliott Center where clients can receive life-skills training, wellness services and employment assistance.
Luminaria kits can still be purchased for $10 each at New Bethany Ministries, 333 W. Fourth St. in Bethlehem, and at the Visitors Center, 505 Main St.
They also can be purchased from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the fundraiser’s distribution site in Suite 180 at 1510 Valley Center Parkway, Bethlehem.