Crystal River, FL April 30, 2022 – Yellow Heart Memorial will host a COVID Remembrance on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 4pm. We will come together at the Crystal River Mall, 1801 US 19 Crystal River, FL to commemorate the staggering threshold of 1 million lives lost to Covid-19. The event is in partnership with Covid Survivors for Change’s National COVID Week of Remembrance & Action.
It is crucial that we come together to acknowledge the unimaginable toll that COVID has taken – and continues to take on families across the United States and around the world. In this moment of collective mourning, names of our lost loved ones will be read and a 10th chair will be dedicated to the memorial representing 100,000 more lives.
Volunteers of Yellow Heart Memorial Florida Chapter are organizing the event as they mourn their personal losses. “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. Kimberly Tougas lost her Aunt Ruthann Toledo on April 7, 2020, and her mother Shirley Ivey on April 24, 2020. “The devastation and pain of losing two relatives to Covid-19 is indescribable”.
As a remembrance to Bobby, Ruthann, Shirley and all lives lost, Yellow Heart Memorial volunteers emphasizes that “our country has one million people. Each had a life and a name, and we refuse to let them be just a number.” The toll of COVID-19 will leave a lasting imprint on our lives and our nation.
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.
Complete the form below to share the name of a loved one to be read during the remembrance.
https://forms.gle/DAsMtcuBwzZ8Z4bN7
A binder is on the table at the memorial. Feel free to bring stories, articles, obituaries, etc. to share with the community.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.
COVID Survivors for Change is a nationwide community of survivors fighting for a stronger pandemic response to save lives by supporting survivors, remembering those who have died, and advocating for public health measures to prevent future pandemics. Learn more at covidsurvivorsforchange.org