A St. Stephen High School grad class is giving back to the community during its upcoming reunion.
The Class of 1984 will place a white stone heart outside Neighbourhood Works this weekend.
Louise Mason-Armstrong said they want to promote an awareness campaign known as Operation White Heart.
“Operation White Heart was built around the white heart representing mental health and suicide awareness,” Mason-Armstrong said in an interview.
The campaign was founded in 2021 by Saint John resident Gary Brown, with a goal of having 1,000 hearts around the province.
More than 600 have already been placed on the lawns of high schools, Horizon Health, post offices and cemeteries, along with many other businesses and homeowners.
Once the grad class decided to add one of their own, the next step was deciding where in the community it would go.
“I was trying to think of a properly-placed heart so that anyone who may be driving by or walking by would be able to see the heart and it would stir up some conversation around what was the purpose of the heart,” said Mason-Armstrong.
“Neighbourhood Works seemed like a fitting place to put this white heart as they represent the vulnerable population and all the supports that they provide.”
The hope is the white heart will encourage people to make a donation to Neighbourhood Works to help them support those in need.
Mason-Armstrong said she would also like to see other businesses, organizations and homeowners in the community add their own.
She added this is a true community effort, with Sharpe’s Lawn Care & Landscaping doing all of the prep work, Canadian Tire providing the white rocks, Mayfield Gardens providing the mulch, and Smet Monumentsproviding a monument for the centre of the white rock.
The white heart outside Neighbourhood Works will be installed at 9 a.m. Saturday.
