September 2025 Updates from The Hearts Project

Monica Moore delivers presentation to CE Chapter of P.E.O. – Siloam Springs, Arkansas

On Tuesday, September 9, Monica gave a presentation about The Hearts Project to the CE Chapter of P.E.O. in Siloam Springs, a women’s philanthropic organization with a worldwide mission to celebrate, support, and motivate women to advance through education. They were an extremely attentive audience who visibly felt the gravity of what she was saying about the pandemic’s effects on everyone’s life.

She will soon ask P.E.O. members to help move The Hearts Project forward, with hopes that some will be willing to share their personal stories about their pandemic experiences. Perhaps some will volunteer to cut a few hearts, while still others might know of venues with an interest in exhibiting the frames. Finally, if there were any artists in the audience, they might agree to create their own artistic rendering of the pandemic that will, with their permission, reside within our ever-expanding collection of pandemic art.

In this way, The Hearts Project becomes a give and get community effort. In exchange for information Monica gives, she receives ideas for how to grow the project and gain ever more exposure, vitally important to ensuring we never forget the pandemic

Photo of Featured Volunteer Laura Avila at Columbia University

The Hearts Project Welcomes Student Volunteer Laura Avila

Happy to report that Laura Avila, artist, computer afficionado, all-around genius, and Jack Kent Cooke scholar in her sophomore year at Columbia University, has continued her work with our project as a student intern. If you’ve been following the progress of The Hearts Project, you already know how central Laura has been to so many of our achievements thus far.

When she left for Columbia, we feared that Laura would have to leave the project and concentrate on her studies. Happily, some of her work at Columbia seemed to dovetail with The Hearts Project and so she stayed on board.

At present, she is managing our social media information and providing insights into our rebuilding of The Hearts Project website. Check out the account of her experience as a volunteer with the project since 2023 in the Volunteer Spotlight of our website.

Thank you, Laura; you’re the best.

A Collaboration with Blue Zoo Creative for Our New Branding and Marketing

We are pleased to share news of our recent collaboration with Blue Zoo Creative, a marketing agency that helps organizations build brand identity, increase their reach by assisting with website development, and stay top of mind in the world of social media. With their help and commitment to slow and steady work, we now have a new logo that we will use in diverse ways.

This logo serves to establish a link between the Covid-19 memorial and the work of our new Foundation. The Hearts Project Foundation includes a Board of Directors, seven dedicated individuals who help generate support for continued work on the memorial, promote the work in our community, and seek partnerships with agencies whose mission aligns with ours.

The Foundation is currently in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status and hopes to receive IRS approval by the end of 2025.

Beyond the logo and new branding, Blue Zoo is currently working with us to refresh and expand our website. We will send an update once it is ready to view around mid-October. Please take some time to explore our site, and be sure to use our contact form to provide any feedback. Your engagement with our work is vitally important to our progress and future success!

← COVID Missed StepsBlue Christmas →

About The Hearts Project

The Hearts Project and Foundation honors the 13,068 lives lost to COVID-19 in Arkansas through community-driven art that preserves memory, fosters healing, and raises public health awareness. By partnering with schools, nonprofits, and local organizations, we create exhibits that remember those we’ve lost, uplift the living, and inspire future generations to never forget.

Please explore our website for the COVID-19 Memorial, Collections, Events, and Exhibit dates.

October 2025 Updates from The Hearts Project

Quarterly Newsletter for The Hearts Project Coming Soon!Greetings from The Hearts Project! We are excited to share that you will soon receive our very first quarterly newsletter for The Hearts Project. Inside, you’ll find updates on noteworthy developments with…