(NBC/WVIT: Debra Bostie) - They're small ceramic hearts full of hope and love, all hand-painted by residents of Newtown, Conn.
The messages, including "love is louder", are meant to help people in the Boston-area heal as the one-month anniversary of the terrorist attack there approaches.
Anne Regnery is among the volunteers packing them up.
"It's just a little act of kindness to say were all in this together,” said Regnery.
After the December tragedy in Newtown, where 20 first-graders and six educators lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School, acts of kindness poured in from around the world.
Among them, 2,500 "Hearts of Hope" placed around the community.
After the attack in Boston, Newtown residents reached out to "Hearts of Hope" wanting to pay it forward.
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In just three weeks, they decorated 1,500 hearts.
"We were shown so many acts of kindness from all over the country, all over the world actually, that it's just a little piece of us going to Boston and saying we are here for you," said Regnery.
Once all of these hearts are packaged and boxed up, they'll be driven to Boston for distribution at hospitals and around the community on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We pull these hearts out one by one by one and I love every single one of them every single time," said “Hearts of Hope” Founder Judy Petersen.
The hearts each contain a personal message from the person who painted them.
They'll hang on trees, fences, and elsewhere, waiting for people to take them home.
"It's kind of like a hug," said Regnery.
It’s a touching tribute from one community still healing from tragedy to another.
