Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
KAYSVILLE — A Kaysville family is raising money to put an Angel of Hope statue in their city cemetery in the hopes of giving families who have lost children a place to heal.
The Call family lost their daughter and sister Lola almost two years ago during a freak ATV accident while in Moab.
Lola's father Zann Call said his uncle reached out to him shortly after Lola's passing and told him about a yearly vigil he attends for children who have died that is held at an angel statue.
Angel statues that honor children who have died can be found all around the world. The statues stem from the book "The Christmas Box," by Richard Paul Evans, and an annual vigil is held on Dec. 6 at cemeteries that have an angel monument.
Call said he was in a difficult place and didn't think much of the statues at first when his uncle told him about them. But in December, he saw a KSL article about the angel vigil held at the Salt Lake City cemetery and it inspired him to find the closest one.
The closest Christmas Box angels to him were in Salt Lake City or West Point and he wished there was one closer. So he and his family decided to try to get an angel statue put in the Kaysville Cemetery.
"There's just so much negativity in our world now. In our social feeds, in our day-to-day lives, and so you pile that on top of a loss of a loved one, especially a child and it can take you to some dark places. This is an effort to give not only my family, but families and generations to come a place of comfort, peace and hope," Call said.
Call worked with Lisa Johnson, a self-proclaimed "angel representative" who helps expand the Christmas Box angels program to new cities. He attended meetings to work with city officials on pitching and approving the statue.
Less than two weeks ago, Call started a GoFundMe* page to start raising money for the statue, and more than $22,000 has already been donated. Call ordered the statue on Wednesday, but the goal is to reach $35,000 to cover the installation, land prepping and base of the statue.
"I've just been shocked by people's generosity," Call said. "It's been amazing. It's good to see there is still so much good in the world, when your world is falling apart all around you."
The angel statue will be placed temporarily in one area of the cemetery while a memorial garden is being built across the street in the cemetery to house the statue permanently. The angel statue will be the focus of the memorial garden, but the garden is meant to be a place for anyone to come and reflect, Call said.
Call said he is hoping the statue will be installed in time to hold the first vigil this December. As he has worked on this project, he has connected with many families in the city who have also lost children.
"Oftentimes we just think that cemeteries are full of middle-aged or older people, but being in the spot we're in now, we have learned there are quite a few kids" in the Kaysville cemetery, Call said. "There is a huge need for something like this to happen just for all these families that are around us, that we know. It makes it almost feel like by trying to help others, we hope it will feel like our loss is less in vain."
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
