HONORING 63,000 FLORIDA LIVES LOST TO COVID The memorial in open during mall hours. Hearts are available on the table to add your loved ones to the wall. Crystal River, FL Yellow Heart Memorial will host the first Florida statewide COVID memorial Saturday, February 5 , 4pm, at Crystal River Mall, 1801 US 19. The temporary exhibit will honor the more than 63,000 residents lost to COVID-19. After an unprecedented 2-year pandemic and the recent surge of the Omicron variant, for the friends and families of COVID-19 victims, coronavirus is still a part of everyday life. “On April 29,2020, I lost my extra special brother Bobby to COVID. He was intellectually disabled with a heart filled with love and generosity” says Debra McCoskey-Reisert of Yellow Heart Memorial Florida Chapter. As a remembrance to Bobby and all lives lost, the memorial will feature hundreds of yellow hearts with individual names of those who died from Covid-19 and will include an opening ceremony for their surviving loved ones. Inspired by her brother’s compassion, McCoskey-Reisert emphasizes that “our country has lost hundreds of thousands of people. Each had a life and a name, and I refuse to let them be just a number.” Yellow Heart Memorial is a non-profit organization created and curated by COVID Survivor Advocate, Rosie Davis of Texas as a tribute to her mother and those who died due to COVID-19. Since its first memorial in January 2021, the organization has expanded with chapters across the country. Each memorial also features silhouettes of COVID-19 victims in yellow hearts drawn by 16-year-old Faces of COVID Victims founder Hannah Ernst in honor of her grandfather. Florida residents may submit the names of loved ones to include in the memorial to Yellow Heart Memorial-FL. The memorial will be on display at Crystal River Mall for an indefinite period and organizers will add names on a continual basis. Yellow Heart Memorial was founded by Rosie Davis after losing her mother to COVID-19 in May 2020; its mission is to have the memories of loved ones lost to COVID live forever. For information visit YellowHeartMemorial.com |