Lauren McElhaney, a Butler Health System Foundation team member, helps assemble the “Appreciation Angels,” the treats given to those who make donations to the Caring Angels Program.

It's chocolate, wrapped in pink, and it's for you and the children, too.

This week, the Butler Health System Foundation launched its Valentine's Day Campaign with chocolate “Appreciation Angels” made by Barkus Chocolate.

“People just love these chocolate angels,” said Kris Bowser, development specialist and events manager of BHS Foundation.

Bowser said the chocolates are not being sold, but donors will receive one chocolate angel for every $3 donation to the Caring Angel Fund.

The Caring Angel Program provides charitable emergency room care to children under the age of 18 whose parents or guardians do not have insurance or resources to pay.

“It's an excellent charity,” said Amy Barkus, owner of the Butler chocolate shop. “It's supplying for the children in need. What better can you do?”

In normal times, the chocolates would be sold at select times during the year at schools across the county, which has not been possible this year because of the pandemic, according to Bowser.She said the Valentine's Day campaign became the solution. With the pandemic still running rampant, the chocolates, which feature a to-and-from label, are a perfect way to let someone know you appreciate them.“We wanted to do something that was positive and happy,” Bowser said.Giving the gift of chocolate also makes sense during any holiday season, but especially Valentine's Day, according to Barkus, who has been contributing her chocolates since 2009.“It's a tradition,” she said. “Valentine's Day is chocolate, whether it's chocolate-covered pretzels or chocolate-covered strawberries,” she said. “It's that one gift you don't have to think about. It's chocolate.”

Barkus and her team make each chocolate in her shop. Each features a custom imprint of an angel.“It's easy,” Barkus said. “It's second-nature here. We think about it year-round, and we fit it into our schedule.”Barkus said it feels good to be part of something that contributes to the lives of children in her community.“I feel privileged that people are buying them, and I feel privileged that Caring Angels is benefiting from them,” she said. “I feel privileged that every year they come back and they ask us to do it again.”

A sample of the Caring Angel Program's “Appreciation Angels” chocolates made by Barkus Chocolate.