By MERI KENNEDY

True, Valentine’s Day is over, and the flowers and chocolate may be gone, yet love continues in Garden City Center with the addition of an uplifting and interactive public art installation called Heart Warming. Comprised of larger-than-life hearts, Heart Warming nods to the 120th anniversary of Sweethearts Candies conversation hearts. With uplifting sayings reminiscent of those now found on the beloved Valentine candy, such as U Got This and Proud of U, the seven-foot hearts will be on view until April 3.
To spread warmth and connectedness in the community, Garden City Center has partnered with the local charity Letters Against Isolation. Founded in March 2020 by two Massachusetts-based sisters during the pandemic, Letters Against Isolation works to combat loneliness among seniors by sending encouraging letters to those in assisted living and senior homes across the world. Remarkably, in under two years, over 325,000 letters have been written to 19,000 senior citizens in six countries through the organization.
Now, through the Heart Warming installation, visitors will be prompted to fill out a postcard with a sweet message and drop it into a designated mailbox. Letters Against Isolation will distribute the letters to local seniors at Cranston nursing and assisted living homes, as well as send blank postcards for seniors to also write their own heart-warming messages to others in the community.
“We are so excited about the arrival of Heart Warming. True to its name, the Heart Warming interactive art installation aims to create feelings of encouragement, connection, and positivity in the midst of another pandemic winter,” said Faith Lockhart, Marketing Manager, Garden City Center.
The public is invited to visit Garden City Center, share photos with the art installation on social media at @GardenCityCenter and write a sweet note to a member of the senior community. For more information on Heart Warming, visit www.gardencitycenter.com.