Folks at the Community Care Clinic have long known there are guardian angels in our community. Now the clinic has its very own guardian angel, for the whole community to see.
On Thursday, the clinic unveiled an angel painting donated by local artist Patt Legg. The angel is displayed on the outside of the building, just above the main entrance, and will be there year-round, according to Krista Woolly, the clinic’s executive director.
“By leaving it up year-round, it’ll be a constant reminder of the need and the provision in this community,” said Julianna Parrish, clinic pharmacist.
The angel is a tribute to the clinic’s Guardian Angel fund drive, which takes place during the holiday season each year. Woolly reported that for more than 17 years, the fund drive has raised more than $750,000. That’s why Woolly has paid no attention to people who tell her not to try to raise money in December.
The angel is 4 feet by 8 feet and is painted in acrylic. She’s shown on a black and purple background. She wears a white robe with sky blue shadows, and gold leaf paint frames her head. It’s dazzling when the noonday sun shines on it. She also wears a stethoscope that’s placed over her heart. Legg noted that she painted a background rather than create a cutout to differentiate this angel from the downtown angels that have been on display in recent years.
Nicholas Goodman with Goodman Millwork designed and installed the wood frame for the angel. The company contributed all materials.
Brenda Goodman spearheaded the project. The board had been talking about getting a new angel for the fundraiser for a year, and this summer, Goodman decided to do something about it. She visited the local Plein Air Carolina artists group and made her pitch. No one responded right away, but she got a call a week later from Legg, who offered her services. The two met at Koco Java, and Legg submitted a sketch less than a week later.
“It’s my honor to have been able to do this,” Legg told board members, shortly after she took her first tour of the clinic with Woolly. “I have been there, done that. I have been in need and I know how it feels.”
Legg said afterward that she had no insurance when she and her late husband moved to Salisbury seven years ago.
“We had five kids and not very many funds,” she said. “It’s just hard. Thank goodness for folks like the Community Care Clinic.”
Which is all the more reason the angel is a permanent installation, Woolly said. “We want to leave it up year-round. We don’t treat people just at Christmastime. It’s just part of what we do. Folks will drive by and look at that angel and realize that people in our own community are their angels.”
For more information about Patt Legg, contact her at 704-762-9647 or pattlegg@yahoo.com.

Freelance writer Susan Shinn lives in Salisbury.