Those at Western State Hospital have a few new things to smile about, courtesy of South Whidbey churches.

A handful of area churches, including St. Hubert Catholic Church, Trinity Lutheran Church and Langley United Methodist Church, united to collect gifts for hospital patients just in time for the holidays.

Church parishioners filled a van to the rim with gifts from their October gift drive, “Christmas for Western State Hospital.”

The drive aimed to supply a bit of holiday cheer to the hospital’s 850 residents.

The annual collection is sponsored by the Mental Health Support Committee, which meets monthly at St. Hubert.