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Hearts of Vancouver Island campaign spreading message of love and unity

‘It’s all about community and bringing people together’
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Sharon Yon hasn’t been in Campbell River for very long, but when she saw a trend emerge in Prince George, she knew it needed to make its way to Vancouver Island. Yon is encouraging people to create and post hearts in their windows during a time when government officials are urging people to stay home, other than for essential needs. ‘It’s good for the kids,’ she says. ‘It gives them an outlet for their creativity.’

A Campbell River woman is hoping to spread a message of love and unity across Vancouver Island.

Sharon Yon first got the heart idea from a woman in Prince George, where she moved from nearly a year ago.

People in her former community were creating hearts and posting them in their windows to share with the community.

“It moved my heart and I thought Campbell River needs to do that,” she says. “It’s all about community and bringing people together amidst this unknown coronavirus that’s going on.”

She scoured Facebook to see if anyone else in the area had the same idea, and seeing none, created her page “Hearts of Campbell River.”

The idea is to create a heart and post it in your window.

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A walk around your block may net you some heart sightings so long as you walk only with people you live with and in groups of one to two.

“It’s great for the kids because the kids are listening to all the parents stress and concerns,” says Yon. “It gives them an outlet for their creativity.”

The submissions rolled in.

There was the driftwood sculpture heart, the heart-shaped wreath, window-marker hearts, construction paper hearts of all sizes.

More recently, she’s had a few requests to change the name to include communities further afield than Campbell River. This week she changed the name to “Hearts of Vancouver Island.”

“It includes the whole Island and all our surrounding islands because we’re all neighbours,” says Yon. “We’re all Islanders.”

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As of March 25, just six days into its Facebook life, the page has more than 300 likes.

In addition to the submissions, Yon also shares her own photography with heart elements. There’s a whale spray in the shape of a heart, the sun shining through trees in the shape of a heart, even translucent dragon fly wings in – you guessed it – the shape of a heart. Yon shares everything on the page so all can enjoy the creativity.

And the submissions don’t have to be things you’ve created and pasted in your windows.

A submission from Nanaimo highlights a heart-shaped rock spotted during a beach walk; another is a busted ceramic plate rearranged into a heart.

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“People can get as creative as they like,” says Yon. “I think the more people become involved, the better we’ll all feel.”

You can see more hearts on the Hearts of Vancouver Island page on Facebook.

Information about COVID-19 is constantly changing. The Campbell River Mirror recommends visiting our website ( https://www.campbellrivermirror.com/tag/coronavirus/ ) for the most up-to-date information. Other reliable resources are Provincial ( http://covid-19.bccdc.ca/ ), Federal ( https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html )and Local ( http://campbellriver.ca/ )governments, and local health authorities ( https://www.islandhealth.ca/health-alerts ). Due to the rapidly changing nature of the information, be sure to always check the date and time of your news, and ensure information you’re sharing is up-to-date and accurate to prevent the spread of misinformation.


@marissatiel
marissa.tiel@campbellrivermirror.com

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