About the Tree Lighting Event

Each year during the December holiday season, a 25 foot tree is solely decorated with thousands of gold ribbons (the symbol for childhood cancer). Each ribbon bears the name of a child who has, or has had cancer. Time is given to all families attending the event to come to the podium to pay tribute to their child who was diagnosed with cancer. Families attend the event for free, and they enjoy stage performances, arts and crafts, special guests, a chocolate fountain, and more!  You may register for the event when you add your child's ribbon (form to the right), or you may email staff@acco.org to let us know you're coming.

About the Ribbons Thousands of gold ribbons are ordered by families every year, and our dedicated volunteers make each ribbon by hand. Each ribbon represents a childhood interrupted or even cut short by cancer, so we take great care to treat every single one with the respect it deserves. Many families ask for their ribbons to be returned each year, so these golden symbols are removed from the tree and mailed to their families in January. These gold ribbons hold deep personal meaning for thousands of families across the country, and we are honored to help them share their stories. Click the links below to read tributes that are submitted with each ribbon on our Tree.  Search the 2012 Ribbons Search the 2011 Ribbons Search the 2010 Ribbons Search the 2009 Ribbons

Event Sponsorship

Light Up the Holidays with Hope is made possible by the generous contributions of individuals who believe in raising awareness of childhood cancer and in supporting the children and families who face this disease. Direct contributions to this event help ACCO ensure that as many resources as possible are used for our family support materials and programs.

Sponsorship Levels:

Bronze: $25.00- $99.00- Acknowledgement on ACCO site and in event program.

Silver: $100.00-$499.00- Acknowledgement on ACCO site, in event program, on ACCO national email list, and on volunteer T-shirts.

Gold: $500.00 and over- Acknowledgement on ACCO site, in event program, on ACCO national email list, on volunteer T-shirts, and on event stage.

The American Childhood Cancer Organization is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax deductible.