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Wellington County homeowners run Christmas light shows to raise money, shed light on social issues

'Christmas is a time for giving, so why not do something good out of this?'

With darker winter nights ahead, lights are beginning to appear on people’s homes in Wellington County. For some homeowners, they are using their light displays to help raise money for charitable causes, in exchange for running fabulous light shows.

One of these shows can be found on 6067 3rd Line in Centre Wellington. Called 3rd Line Lights, homeowner and organizer Lance Henderson syncs thousands of bulbs to 17 songs between two houses on the property.

From Nov. 12 onward, residents who drive by the house can tune into 100.1 to listen to the songs as the lights move with the music.

“We get quite a few lineups in December, the week of, there’s usually five or six cars parked here at a given time,” said Henderson.

Every year, Henderson mentions hundreds of cars show up to 3rd Line Lights with some coming as far away as Toronto to check out the event.

“On Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. two cars full of teenagers showed up and they were having a dance party on the road to the music,” he said about last year. “With COVID, there was nothing to do, so they had an outdoor little party there, it was quite entertaining to watch.”

Started around 12 years ago in Elmira, Henderson said the display takes a long time to program. In the beginning, he said it took him 40 hours to program one song, and despite updates to the program, it still takes him five hours to add a new song for the show.

“Seeing people enjoying it is worth it,” he said.

In return for putting on the show, Henderson asks that people consider making a donation to the Wellington County Food Bank or the Guelph Humane Society. He adds all the money donated goes directly to the organizations, covering all the electricity and light bills himself.

“When you have all of these people out here, it’s Christmas lights and Christmas is a time for giving, so why not do something good out of this?” Henderson said about his reasons for collecting donations. “Everyone loves it, everyone is happy to give.”

Meanwhile in Arthur, another family also organizes a light display over the holidays, but for a different reason. 

After the Tonelli family struggled to help a loved one receive mental health care, Scott and Amy Tonelli decided to shed light on the subject of mental health through their Christmas light event called Change 4 Change.

"If you've ever gone through it, it's such a difficult place to navigate," said Scott Tonelli.

“Through this whole journey of mental health, we didn’t really, in my opinion, get enough help. Every case is so drastically different, and we got bounced around so much. We didn’t get any after care, it was basically like, ‘Go on the Internet and maybe you can find some other families like yourselves to find comfort,’ and I thought, ‘How can this be?’”

Using spare change he saved from forgoing trips to Tim Horton’s, Scott said his original plan was to buy a hospital bed for the family member in need. However, a visit from a family one Christmas Eve who liked his lights and gave him a prepaid gift card, inspired Scott to purchase a computerized display and spark conversations around mental health, starting Change 4 Change.

“The change I’m rolling to buy a bed will never amount to enough, but I thought, ‘Wait a minute, if I can make something renewable that can create some sort of discussion around it, then I can make a difference.’”

The display has not only helped to inspire conversations around mental health, Tonelli said it has brought comfort to others who are going through their own mental health struggles.

“It’s crazy, when I come home from work, there’s 15 to 17 cars watching the show,” Tonelli said, mentioning the lights have garnered thousands of conversations around mental health.

“I thought ‘Man, my pocket change to buy a bed never would’ve created this reaction in people.’” 

Starting Nov. 27, those in town can drive by 105 Schmidt Dr. between 6 and 10:30 p.m. and tune into 100.5 to experience the show. 

Tonelli said they will be collecting donations for the Grand River Hospital Child and Adolescent In-Patient Unit for Mental Health (C.A.I.P Unit) to help improve the stay for children receiving treatment. A mailbox is being left at the end of the driveway to receive donations, along with a QR code for those who wish to donate online.

Since collecting donations two years ago, Tonelli said Change 4 Change has raised $6,800 for the C.A.I.P Unit. This season, Tonelli hopes to collect between $6,500 and $7,500.

“To see this compound in two years, I’m excited to see what this year brings,” he said.

Going forward, Tonelli is hoping the Change 4 Change campaign can get the attention of Justin Bieber to increase awareness around mental health.

“(Bieber's) People are looking, so who knows what five years will bring,” said Tonelli. “He does a lot for children as well.”

Both 3rd Line Lights and Change 4 Change in Wellington County will be available to witness until New Year’s Day.