Fisio Physical Therapy & Wellness LLC teamed up with the Hearts of Hope Newtown Chapter last month to sponsor a Paint with a Purpose event that will benefit The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Fund. The August 15 event, hosted by fisio Physical Therapy & Wellness, 141 Mount Pleasant Road, was part of the Hearts of Hope Summer of Hope campaign, with a goal of distributing 500 Hearts of Hope to seriously ill children at the hospital. The campaign will also donate ten percent of all funds raised to the hospital’s research fund.

As part of the physical therapy and wellness center’s seventh anniversary, the business chose to celebrate the occasion with various community service projects. The Hearts of Hope Summer of Hope campaign proved to be a perfect venue.

The fisio staff, along with community volunteers and participants, painted ceramic hearts for the young patients at CHOP and donated $100 to the Research Fund.

The event was spearheaded and facilitated by Hearts of Hope Newtown Chapter President Pattie Ptak and Vice President Jane Knapp.

Hearts of Hope is a “pay-it-forward” charitable organization where people paint ceramic hearts with messages of compassion and love and send or deliver them to people and places in need of hope and healing. The foundation has conducted thousands of Paint with A Purpose events across the nation to help raise money and provide inspiration and support for various individuals and groups.

Hearts of Hope has local grassroots chapters in New Jersey and Connecticut, and volunteers can be found all across the country. These unique keepsake gifts have been distributed to hospitals, military bases, nursing homes, police departments and firehouses, as well as to individuals in need of a message of hope.

Nearly 100,000 hearts have been distributed since 9/11. Every ceramic heart distributed is seen by its recipient and at least an additional ten people, not counting those who helped create and paint them. It is safe to say individual Hearts of Hope have been seen and experienced by almost one million individuals around the world.

Judy Pedersen, founder and executive director of Hearts of Hope, says the hearts “are a simple and loving way to bring encouragement to people and communities who have endured so much. “They are small, but powerful gifts from the heart,” she added.

The motto of the nonprofit organization is “Creating hope... one heart at a time.”

For additional information about Hearts of Hope and paying it forward, visit ourheartsofhope.org or Facebook at Our Hearts of Hope. The organization can also be reached via e-mail at info@ourheartsofhope.org.

Hearts of Hope Foundation Inc is headquartered in Port Charlotte, Fla., with chapters in various states.