Eastern Iowa hospitals giving and receiving

Giving trees, angel trees, poinsettias, love lights, sock lines and ornaments. All are ways Corridor hospitals are raising spirits and funds through the holiday season.

'No one wants to be in the hospital over the holidays,' said Mary Klinger, president of the UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Foundation in Cedar Rapids.

The various initiatives in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City help foster the spirit of giving.

'We see so many less-fortunate people that don't really have a lot of things, and they have a need,' she said. 'The spirit of giving is impactful for the patients ...

so we want to be able to make their holiday special, too.'

The season is an especially tough time for families and friends who have experienced losses, as well. A project through Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids encourages the remembrance of loved ones who have died, and honors those who being served by hospice care. It's based at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha, but is open to anyone in need of comfort.

'That final journey you are on with a loved one — to have a special place to be is absolutely essential and quite amazing,' said Sue Hawn, Mercy Foundation president.

Here is a look at the various ways the public can get involved for good.

MERCY IOWA CITY

Mercy Love Lights: Honoring or memorializing loved ones, the lights will illuminate trees at the corner of Market and Johnson streets in Iowa City. Cost: $10 for a light, $20 for a light and ornament, (319) 339-3657 or Mercyiowacity.org/lovelightdonation The gifts support Mercy Hospice Care.

Tree lighting ceremony: 5:15 p.m. Monday (12/5), Zion Lutheran Church, 310 N. Johnson St., Iowa City.

MERCY MEDICAL CENTER, Cedar Rapids

Deck the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center: Add ornaments to the lobby tree, with a donation of any amount, to honor a person who has had a cancer diagnosis. Ornaments are color-coded, with 17 hues tied to specific cancers and lavender for all cancers. The ornaments can be personalized and put on the tree, and donors can take them home after the holidays. Proceeds benefit the center's 'Greatest Need' fund. Details: Mercycare.org/ways-to-give/deck-the-hall-perrine-cancer-center/ or (319) 398-6206.

'It's open to the public,' Hawn said, whether you or your loved one was treated at the center.

'We are a community hospital — it's about making those connections,' she said. 'It's part of the Mercy Touch — a tangible way to say we can connect and stay connected, sharing our joys and sorrows.'

Hospice of Mercy Love Lights: Also open to the public, donations in amount will purchase personalized ornaments for three trees at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, 315 18th Ave., Hiawatha. Details: Mercycare.org/services/hospice/ways-to-give-to-hospice/

Contributions support the work of hospice and the hospice house, and can be made in honor of current or former patients, families, staff, volunteers or anyone else the donor wishes to remember.

Programs from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday (12/5) and Tuesday (12/6) will give people 'a moment to stop and remember and celebrate all the beautiful people in our lives,' Hawn said. 'The house is lit up, their courtyard full of lights. It's beautiful and I hope people feel as comforted as I do.'

Some families return year after year to reconnect with the people who became like family, helping them in their time of need, she said. Attending the event also helps people connect with others who 'have gone through similar circumstances,' she added.

'We can all be a comfort to one another — and you can walk away feeling that we all share our grief, but also celebrate the joy of our family members, our friends that passed away. It's that community that gets put together.'

UNITYPOINT HEALTH-ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL, CEDAR RAPIDS

Giving Trees, through December: Set up around the hospital, the public can select a tag noting a current need — some generic, some specific — and place a cash or check donation in the corresponding envelope. Trees are located in the hospital's A Avenue NE lobby, west entrance, physical medicine and rehab department, hospice and Women's and Children's lobby.

'It adds that warmth to the hospital, when you can have trees throughout, especially during the holiday season,' Klinger said. 'When you're away from your home, you can still have that 'home' feeling. The areas (that benefit from proceeds) are very grateful, and the patients can't thank (donors) enough for the kindness and the generosity they're receiving.'

Poinsettias and Pastries Holiday Boutique: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today (12/3), presented by the St. Luke's Auxiliary in the A Avenue lobby, 1026 A Ave. NE. Proceeds from this new fundraiser will benefit Children's Health services at the hospital. Items for purchase include Danish kringle pastries, designer poinsettias and custom holiday decor, ranging from $15 to $50, as well as 25 percent discounts on Christmas items in the Gift Shop.

UIHC, IOWA CITY

Angel Tree, through Dec. 15: This gift-giving opportunity has been making spirits bright for more than two decades for patients spending the holidays at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

'When someone is in a health crisis, they end up coming to the hospital with little or nothing, quite often, so they arrive with just the clothes that they're wearing,' said Mindy Egeland, librarian in the patients' library, who helps coordinate the holiday committee.

'The Angel Tree allows the activities/therapy staff and the child life staff to work with the patients and families to figure out what their greatest needs are,' she said.

'We try to focus more on our adult population, because they are kind of the 'unseen' population here at the hospital,' added Tera Kringle, volunteer coordinator in the UIHC Volunteer Services office. 'We get a lot of donations for our kids, which is absolutely wonderful, so this is an opportunity for us to help identify the items that would be appreciated by our adult population — but kids are listed on there.'

The tree is located outside the Volunteer Services office, on the eighth floor, off Elevator F. Between 250 and 300 patients were served in last year's drive.

The public is invited to take an angel tag off the tree, buy the noted item, and return it by Dec. 15. Some tags call for basic necessities, like sweatshirts, pants and socks. Other suggestions include gift cards, games or specific 'wish list' items from patients whose identity is only known to the staff members. Hawkeye apparel is especially popular, said Kringle, who admits she does have fun with her last name during the holidays.

Warm the Sole, through Jan. 31: This marks the second year for this community sock drive, in conjunction with the United Way of Johnson County. A clotheslines has been strung up near the UIHC's first floor volunteer gift shop, and the public is invited to pin up socks through Jan. 31. The United Way will distribute them to area people in need, not patients.

'Anyone in the community can participate in this — it just happens to be hosted at the hospital,' Kringle said.

In the past, the hospital has collected hats, mittens, scarves and gloves, Egeland noted, but the United Way said a lot of other organizations were doing that. She calls the sock drive 'a brilliant idea' to help 'an underserved part of the community.'

Family Angels: An in-hospital initiative, in which a department can adopt a family who will be spending the holidays at the hospital, making sure their needs are met. Egeland said that can give them 'enough of a feeling of support that they find the courage to continue on.'

For all the recipients of the various giving programs at the area hospitals, the sentiment is the same:

'It's just nice to know someone cares,' Egeland said. 'And that's what I think it's all about.'