WATERLOO/SAINT LOUIS – One family is making a difference for kids in the hospital this Christmas, and you’re invited to help.
Three years ago, Angie Fouste and her daughter Mercedes Eberlin stumbled across an organization in Tennessee that provides Christmas trees to decorate children’s hospital rooms. Now, they are inviting the community to create their own trees to give back to St. Louis kids in an initiative called Light Up the Holidays.
“It’s just a way of brightening everyone’s holidays,” Eberlin said. “The first year, we had over 100 trees. Last year we had about 66 trees. So far this year, we have three. Our numbers are kind of slow, so we’re trying to get the information out there because a lot of people like the idea, they just don’t know about it.”
Community members are invited to purchase a new three-foot-tall Christmas tree and decorate it with toys and battery-operated lights. Kid-friendly themes or festive decorations are encouraged.
Then, Eberlin and Fouste will deliver the trees to kids at Cardinal Glennon, Mercy and Shriners Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. The deadline for decorating and donating a tree is Dec. 8, 2025.
“It really changes the feeling of the room and makes the patient feel a little bit better,” Fouste explained. “I have one child that has been in the hospital often, and it can just feel like a very sterile place. I just thought, for kids in the hospital, it would be nice to kind of make the room feel a little bit better.”
Over the past few years, they have heard some amazing stories. Fouste still keeps track of Walker, a young boy who was ecstatic to receive a Christmas tree last year. Another little girl “hated” going to the hospital but asked if she could schedule her appointment near Christmastime this year so she could see the trees again.
Some organizations have even had Christmas tree competitions to spark donations. Employees at Federico Kia in Wood River competed to build the best trees, which were then all donated to the Light Up the Holidays initiative. Two years ago, Marthasville Fire Protection District in Missouri similarly worked together to decorate trees for the kids.
Families and organizations are encouraged to donate this year. Eberlin and Fouste said they are more than happy to facilitate pick-ups or drop-offs. You can visit their official Facebook page for more information about guidelines and how to donate.
“Some kids are in the hospital for the whole holiday. We just try to make it a little bit better for kids having to go through all those procedures and being away from home,” Fouste added. “You get to be creative and make it your own. But just knowing that a kid would be much happier just makes it feel really good.”
