Fort Myers family has Christmas light show to sponsor grieving family

By Alexia Tsiropoulos

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    FORT MYERS, Florida (WBBH) — The McQuade Family Christmas Light Show is a tradition many look forward to each holiday season.

But for the McQuade family, it is about more than lighting up the night sky.

These twinkling lights can be seen for miles along Ranchette Road in Fort Myers.

“I don’t think a lot of people like to take the time to put up all these cool lights so I think it’s really cool they were able to do this,” Adlei said. She was most excited to see Santa Claus.

The McQuade family starts setting up about six weeks in advance before opening their gates. Which many look forward to.

“Adds to the Christmas festivities for the community and for a lot of people there are so many different stories that we hear about how much this is meant to different families and how they’ve been bringing your kids here since they were literally weeks old,” David McQuade said.

But for McQuade and his family, it is about more than just the Christmas carols and glistening lights.

“In past years, we’ve sponsored families that have had children battling cancer,” he said

This year, they worked with Valerie’s House to find the perfect family to sponsor.

“Nicole and her family, She has three children, a Fort Myers family. And we wanted them to not have to worry about anything this Christmas,” Valerie’s House Founder and CEO Angela Melvin said. “We wanted them to have tons of gifts and we wanted them to have dinner.”

She said it was a tough decision picking a family for the McQuade family.

“So many families could benefit from any kind of financial assistance, especially at this time of year,” Melvin said.

McQuade knows the work of putting the thousands of lights in his yard is all for good.

“I wish we could help everybody but if we can make a difference in one person’s life, I mean it’s worth all the time, and all of the effort that we put into it,” He said.

The McQuade family has their light schedule on their Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Mcquade-Family-Christmas-Lightshow/2257105544574618

There you learn more about Nicole and her family, as well as when Santa will make a quick stop.

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