Barb City Manor, an independent retirement living community in DeKalb, hopes to spread a bit of cheer for a good cause this holiday season.

The nonprofit retirement facility’s annual end-of-year fundraising campaign, dubbed “Light Up the Manor,” is back for the second year in a row.

“What we do is we have the front of the building covered in lights, and as donations come in, the strands get lit one by one,” Barb City Manor associate administrator Anne Cheladyn said. “The goal is by Dec. 31 to have the entire front of the building lit.”

“Light Up the Manor” started in November with an open house, inviting the community in to ring in the spirit of the holiday season. The campaign continues through Dec. 31.

The goal is to raise money for two funds: one to support low- to moderate-income residents with financial assistance, and another to cover building improvements.

In the past, donations have been used to pay for things such as rental assistance, a new parking lot, roof repairs, Wi-Fi installation, security cameras and more.

New this year, Barb City Manor has extended corporate and business sponsorship opportunities to area companies and organizations interested in helping to kick-start the end-of-year campaign with financial contributions. In addition, the public is invited to make donations in memory of loved ones.

Cheladyn said she’s been delighted by the community’s generosity.

“Because we had such a great response last year, we said we need to do this every year,” Cheladyn said. “Every year, we’re hoping that the front yard has more angels and snowmen, and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

Residents who live at Barb City Manor are assessed rent, which goes to cover the building’s day-to-day operations. Other costs generally require fundraising or are paid for using grants.

Cheladyn said their goal is to ensure that living at Barb City Manor is affordable for residents.

She said residents’ rent doesn’t pay for the big capital projects.

“That does not fall on the backs of our residents,” Cheladyn said.

In 2024, Barb City Manor awarded more than $85,000 to its residents in rental assistance.

Barb City Manor Executive Director Sarah Davis said efforts to pursue capital projects are always ongoing.

“We are working on getting new exterior doors,” Davis said. “We have masonry issues that we need to get repaired, and then we’re also hoping to eventually start redecorating the building, especially our ground floor.”

A goal has been set to raise $60,000 in donations this year, which will go to support both funds.

Cheladyn said the fundraising efforts are going well.

“This is the first year we’ve ever done corporate sponsors,” Cheladyn said. “We had a wonderful response. We had 20 corporate sponsors and local businesses that pitched in to help us out. And we are just under $25,000, and our goal is $60,000.”

There are about 5,000 lights on the front of the building.

As of Dec. 3, Barb City Manor is one-third of the way fully lit.

Davis said she thinks the sight of the lights helps spread holiday cheer.

“I think they enjoy it,” she said. “The south side of DeKalb doesn’t have as much as the rest of the city sometimes. The lights themselves, when you’re coming down First Street, it’s kind of hard to miss it.”

For information or to make a donation, visit barbcitymanor.org. Donors also can be dropped off or mailed to Barb City Manor, 680 Haish Boulevard, DeKalb.