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Blackhawk, Open Bible Earn Top Community Festival of Trees Honors

A tree from Blackhawk Elementary School won first place from FHN’s panel of judges and third place in People’s Choice voting for this year’s FHN Community Festival of Trees at the Freeport Public Library.

Blackhawk will receive $600 for its “Holiday Magic Around the World” tree - $500 for the judges’ category and $100 for People’s Choice.

Open Bible Learning Center Elementary School’s “The Magic of Christmas Isn’t In Presents But In His Presence!” took first place in the People’s Choice category, and will receive a $500 donation. There were 571 votes in this year’s People’s Choice competition.

“Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Freeport High School National Art Honor Society was the judges’ second place winner, netting the non-profit a $300 prize.

The Family YMCA of Northwest Illinois tree, “YMCA Elves Searching For Magic in the Air,” won the judges’ third place prize – and a $150 donation.

“It Is Christmas in the Heart that Puts Christmas in the Air,” a W.T. Ellis quote and the theme of the Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School 4th grade classes, is the second-place People’s Choice winner, garnering a $200 prize.

The FHN Community Festival of Trees brings non-profit organizations from across the area to decorate holiday trees, with cash prizes awarded by a panel of judges and the public. The Community Festival of Trees is on display free of charge at the Freeport Public Library (100 E. Douglas Street in Freeport) through Wednesday, Dec. 27.

Give the Gift of Life this Holiday – Give Blood!

FHN is hosting a community blood drive Tuesday, Dec. 26. If you are at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in general good health, please donate! Staff from the Rock River Valley Blood Center will draw blood from noon – 6 p.m. in the Globe/Deaconess rooms on the lower level of FHN Memorial Hospital.

Last year, FHN Memorial Hospital used 881 units of blood for our patients. We are counting on hospital staff and community members to help us replenish some of that blood! Walk-ins are welcome, but please sign up to donate at www.rrvbc.org – appointments help to ensure you can make your donation in a timely manner.

The Rock River Valley Blood Center is the only supplier of blood and related services to FHN Memorial Hospital, as well as Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside, Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, UW Health Swedish American Hospital, and UW Carbone Cancer Center of Rockford, where many Freeport trauma/cancer patients are transferred to in severe cases.

If you are not sure if you are eligible to donate, please call RRVBC at 815-965-8751 to check. The FDA has changed many regulations concerning blood donations in the past year, so if you were ineligible to donate in the past, we encourage you to check your eligibility now.

FHN Employee Discounts

Help Spread the News: We’re Here, For You!

We have a lot to be proud of at FHN, from our talented, dedicated staff to the many advanced capabilities we offer our patients. We’re working hard every day to be sure we provide excellent care to our patients.

Each week, look to the Focus for good news to share about FHN in the form of downloadable flyers you can print and post or hand out to patients who may be interested. Also look for links to our most recent radio interviews and past interviews to listen to and recommend to others. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook! Please encourage patients, friends, and family to also take advantage of these FHN information resources. Thanks for your help in promoting FHN!

Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion and Worldwide Health

December is …
National Safe Toys and Gifts Month

The United Nations observes Universal Human Rights Month in December. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN in 1948 as a response to the Nazi holocaust and to set a standard by which the human rights activities of all nations, rich and poor alike, are to be measured. Some of the Rights are: No one shall be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment, being entitled to a fair and public hearing by an impartial tribunal, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to a standard of living to include food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, the right to education, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community, not being arbitrarily deprived of their property, a speedy juried trial and right to legal counsel.

The United Nations observes Universal Human Rights Month in December. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN in 1948 as a response to the Nazi holocaust and to set a standard by which the human rights activities of all nations, rich and poor alike, are to be measured. Some of the Rights are: No one shall be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment, being entitled to a fair and public hearing by an impartial tribunal, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to a standard of living to include food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, the right to education, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community, not being arbitrarily deprived of their property, a speedy juried trial and right to legal counsel.

The people of Mexico celebrate Posadas December 16 – 24. It is a nine-day traditional celebration in which processions of pilgrims go door to door asking for posada, which means shelter.

December 22 is the day of Solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter begins this day. In the Southern Hemisphere, this day is the beginning of summer. Between the equator and the Arctic Circle, the sun rises and sets farthest south on the horizon for the year and the period of daylight is the shortest – 12 hours, 8 minutes at the equator and decreasing to zero at the Arctic Circle.

People of the Wiccan faith celebrate Yule on December 22. During the winter solstice – the longest night of the year – the rebirth of the sun which is life-sustaining is celebrated. The Yule tree is decorated with fruit and candles are lit to represent the sun.

December 22 is Tohji-Tasai for people of the Shinto faith. The sun is of central importance in Japan and this day celebrates the end of the Yin period of the sun in its declining strength and the growing power of the Yang period.

Mormons celebrate Joseph Smith’s Birthday on December 23. He was the American Mormon leader, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.

December 25 is Christmas for Christians around the world. The day celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth more than 2,000 years ago. Customs include lighting candles, exchanging gifts, and using evergreen decorations to celebrate the day, the most widely observed Christian festival of the year. In most communities, it is a family day.

The people of the Bahamas celebrate Junkanoo on December 26. It is a festival that combines elements of Mardi Gras, mummers’ parades, and African tribal rituals.

In Ireland, December 26 is Wren Day / St. Stephen’s Day. Boys in wren costumes go from house to house with a captured wren, singing songs and gathering coins. These coins help to pay for a big celebratory feast in the evening.

December 26 is the first day of Kwanzaa. A professor who wanted to encourage African-Americans to celebrate their heritage started Kwanzaa in California in 1966. Kwanzaa means first fruit in Swahili and is a harvest festival. Families exchange gifts and have African-style feasts. Seven-pronged candleholders are filled and lit on each consecutive night for the seven principles – unity, self-determination, working together, sharing, purpose, creativity, and faith.

People of the Zoroastrian faith mark the Death of Prophet Zarathustra, the founder of the faith, on December 26.

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