Each year, Butler Memorial Hospital's Caring Angel program raises money to help pay for emergency room care to children whose parents or guardians do not have insurance or the resources to pay.

The program also helps families and children in need through educational, therapeutic and support services at Family Services of Butler Memorial Hospital and supports the hospital's Recovery Project, a support group for recovering young addicts.

Here are the ways the funds are raised:

On a snowy November day, the 2008 Caring Angel program began when more than 400 people attended a concert by jazz artist Joe Negri. His "Mass of Hope" benefited the Caring Angel program and the Butler School District's Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation.The concert, sponsored by Butler law firm Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter & Graham, featured two professional cantors and 170 students from the Butler intermediate and high school choirs.Negri, who had formerly performed on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," is one of the top jazz guitarists in the country. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Pittsburgh Pops, and for 20 years he was the musical director for WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.

Butler County residents had an opportunity to have dinner served to them by teachers, administrators and public figures at the Texas Roadhouse and North Country Brewery in Slippery Rock. All tips from these evenings benefited the Caring Angel program.Servers included Major League baseball player Matt Clement; professional boxer Brian Minto; Butler School District Superintendent Ed Fink; WPXI on-air personality Amy Marcinkiewicz; Y108 Radio personality Tracey Morgan, KDKA radio personality Shelley Duffy; Slippery Rock University music professor Stephen Hawk; teachers from the Butler and Slippery Rock school districts; and mascots Steeley McBeam from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirate Parrot and Rocky from Slippery Rock University.

A total of 50 baskets of items, including Wiis, GPS systems and baskets of gift cards from merchants, were donated by hospital departments, physician offices and ambulance service providers and were on display at the hospital for more than a week. Hospital employees and residents had the opportunity to buy tickets to win the beautiful baskets.

The hospital and several businesses sold paper angels in honor or in memory of special people. All four McDonald's restaurants in Butler covered their walls with their angel sales and raised a total of $6,440.

The community had a chance to celebrate the Caring Angel program on television in December.The show featured the many creative ways community members raised money and highlighted presentations of donations from merchants and representatives from the Butler School District.To date, the Caring Angel program has raised $70,400."We are pleased with the outstanding support from the community," said Kris Bowser, development specialist with the Butler Health System. "This program has evolved into a major community effort as is evidenced by the variety of events supporting the Caring Angel program. We look forward to being able to continue to serve our community."This article was submitted by Butler Memorial Hospital.