As the holiday season begins, angel ornaments will start appearing everywhere. You’ll see them dangling from the branches of Christmas trees and standing on window ledges.

Area residents now have an opportunity to add another angel to their collection of Christmas items and at the same time help pay for some needed items for UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center.

More than two decades ago, the members of the Trinity Regional Medical Center Auxiliary came up with a neat idea. They decided to sell angel ornaments in the hospital’s gift shop and use the money to pay for needed things that didn’t get funded in the hospital’s budget. The ornaments were named Angels of Love.

Angels of Love have been around for 23 years. A different ornament has been offered every year, and some people have every one of them.

The newest ornament is now available in the hospital’s gift shop. People can get one for a minimum donation of $15. And when they buy one, they can do so in honor of a loved one. A volunteer working at the gift shop will write down the name of anyone so honored, and their names will be listed on a sign board.

In the first 22 years of Angels of Love, more than $185,000 has been raised. The revenue generated by this year’s effort will be used to buy outerwear for the guest services volunteers so they can stay warm throughout the winter as they help hospital patients and visitors into the building.

The Angels of Love ornaments are not cheap-looking trinkets. They are like works of art that anyone would feel proud to have in their homes.

We encourage people to consider buying an Angel of Love. They can be purchased in the hospital gift shop, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p,m, on Saturdays.

Getting an Angel of Love will add a nice element to a home and support the medical care of our friends and neighbors.