By Kathy Brown.
On April 9, we shared Tanya Bottaro’s “Give a Heart… Make a Heart” project in our Still More Signs of Our H-K Community Pulling Together During COVID-19 article. She and her family in Haddam have been cutting hearts out of plywood, painting them red, and giving them to families of healthcare workers, and others on the front lines. “The hearts are for essential workers and others too (like businesses) who are helping the community during this time, or a family in need who could use a boost for their spirit.”
Tanya and her husband David, are both working from home, and make the hearts during work breaks or in the evenings. Their children are helping as well.
Since then, Tanya and her family have made 125 hearts and are busy distributing them all over town. They have had one donation of wood from a Haddam Neck resident, but have provided everything else themselves. In fact, their handheld jigsaw was too slow, so David bought a new bandsaw to speed up the process.
The idea sprang from a Zoom meeting that Tanya was on with her coworkers from William Raveis Real Estate in Middletown. They wanted to thank people in the community who were on the front lines. Their mortgage banker, Christopher Blum, who lives in West Hartford, is also making hearts with his family and giving them to workers in his community.
“The best feeling is hanging them on someone’s tree or front yard and then having them wave or yell thank you from their door/window,” said Tanya. “Everyone is sharing their story when we reach out and so grateful. Some are sending pictures as well and letting us know how it brightened their day. They are the ones doing the ‘hard work’ and this is the least we can do to show our love and support.”
When I go for a walk, or have to go out to get groceries for my elderly father, and see one of these hearts in front of someone’s house or hanging from a street sight, it gives me a feeling of pride to live in a community like this, where people feel compelled to reach out to others at a time like this.
If you know of someone on the front lines or a family going through a difficult time who should receive a heart, or if you want to donate material to the Bottaro’s effort to spread love and support in our community, email Tanya at tanyabottaro@comcast.net. She also encourages others to join in and make their own hearts to spread the love.
