When the news struck on Dec. 14 of the shocking and tragic mass shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School, Ley-Anne Mountain's heart ached for a cause of love.
Knowing the tragic killing of 20 children and six adults would profoundly affect every decent citizen in the world, the 37-year-old mother of two small children believed Innisfail could use a positive and loving message, one that could then be sent to the grieving souls in Newtown, Conn.
Mountain contacted all the schools in town with a concept called ìMessages of Love.î
ìThis is something I needed to do. We just heard over and over the sadness of it all, said Mountain, who owns Naturally Nurtured ñ a business that promotes wellness and self-care, including to children at the town's schools. ìWe have to remember a message of love. That's the whole thing. It starts with the community. It is totally about the community.î
She contacted all the schools on Dec. 19. The idea was simple. Schoolchildren were asked to create hearts. On Dec. 21 she went to the schools to collect them. Mountain was overwhelmed. There was at least a total of 1,000 hearts.
ìThe messages are just beautiful and moving,î said Mountain on Dec. 20 after looking over the huge piles of hearts she collected. ìWe all know what sad looks like. We need to remember what compassion can do. It has to start somewhere.î
Meanwhile, school officials were delighted with Mountain's initiative. Since the tragedy schools in every jurisdiction have been struggling with how best to help staff and students, especially the young, deal with the unthinkable horror of Sandy Hook. At Chinook Center School, which serves young students from Kindergarten to Grade 4, the tragedy was not discussed in terms of children but officials were ready to deal with any issues if the need arose, said teacher Patty Hollman.
ìWe didn't think twice,î said Hollman of Mountain's initiative. ìOur hearts are filled in our school.î
She said about 70 Chinook Center students created hearts for Mountain's ìinspirationalî initiative with the older students including heartfelt messages.
ìIt was a great way for all of us to deal with this (tragedy). All of us after felt a little bit vulnerable,î said Hollman. ìThe heart is a symbol of love. At this time of year it is nice to share that message.î
And the 1,000 lovingly crafted hearts will be shared with both locals and the citizens of Newtown, Conn.
Before Christmas, Mountain contacted several businesses throughout town to have a poster and hearts displayed on their windows.
ìWe want to encourage businesses to have a basket of paper hearts for customers and clients to fill out their special messages and put them on the window,î said Mountain.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the 1,000 hearts of love and understanding, created lovingly by Innisfail's young, will be sent to the grieving citizens of Newtown, Conn. They will know that the hearts of Innisfail, Alta. are with them in this tragic time of trial.
ìThis is to show that there is a lot of love out there,î said Mountain. ìThey will get a box of love from Innisfail.î
"We have to remember a message of love. That's the whole thing. It starts with the community."Ley-Anne Mountain
