Christmas for a cause: Jacksonville teen's holiday lights raise money to fight disease
If traffic gets a little heavy on Jacksonville's Garibaldi Avenue this time of year, it's probably Jack Wheeler's fault.
Wheeler, a junior at Stanton College Preparatory School, has decorated the family home at Garibaldi and Cellini Way with an eye-popping computer-controlled holiday light show. It's generated a steady flow of traffic as people check out the LED lights timed to a 33-minute musical program.
"When I first started in 2017, my mom was nervous that the neighbors would hate it," Wheeler said. "But that first year, I got hand-written thank you notes from neighbors."
A street party held the day after Thanksgiving, when the lights are turned on for the first time, has become something of a neighborhood event and it's a rare evening when someone isn't camped out on the sidewalk across the street taking it all in.
There are certainly bigger and more elaborate home light shows to be found around the Jacksonville area, but Wheeler's is special — it's raising money for a rare genetic disease that is afflicting his younger cousin. Wheeler's cousin, Jonah Williams, lives in North Carolina and has epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin disorder that causes blistering and severe pain.
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There is a donation box attached to a pole in the Wheeler front yard, along with a QR code visitors can scan to donate to Debra, a national organization that fights the disease. It's the only light show in America collecting money for Debra and has already raised $15,800 this year. That's on top of the more than $20,000 he raised in the previous two years. People can also donate directly to Debra at givebutter.com/43ybnT.
A lot of that comes from local sponsors, but Wheeler noted that all of the money he raises goes to Debra. "The lights I just pay for myself," he said.
His cousin, Williams, visited the display on opening night this year. Williams, a high school freshman who is a big Wake Forest fan, was recently "signed" by the Demon Deacons' basketball team, serving as an unofficial cheerleader and inspiration to the team.
Wheeler's display will run every evening, starting at 6 p.m., until the end of the year. So far this year, he's even been able to keep it running when it rains, something that didn't necessarily happen in years past.
"It used to not work in the rain but over the years I've figured out how to waterproof it," he said.
He's added lighted frames to the windows and a couple of new songs to this year's program. The yard has none of the inflatables or blow-molded figures you see in many holiday displays; it's all lights. "I like it to be very clean and neat," he said.
Arches run along the sidewalk and LED strings trace the outlines of the house. Lighted snowflakes adorn the windows and a 20-foot "tree" stands on one side of the yard. About 10,000 lights make up the display, and a computer runs the whole thing. Wheeler said he created a 3D model of the house on his laptop, which helped him precisely design the lighting program. Each individual bulb can change colors and be programmed to create patterns where the lights flash and chase each other across the house.
Once the holidays are over, the whole thing fits into boxes that get packed away in the garage until next year. Wheeler said he doesn't look forward to that.
"It almost takes longer to take it down," he said. "It's really sad."
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Christmas lights display helps fight rare skin disease
