Tree of HeARTs Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that wants to spread one message and one message alone: the need for love and connection across all communities. Based on the principle of children painting hearts and giving them to others, the organization started with just that: children spreading joy to the elderly. The art classes aim to combat loneliness and supply one thing only to the community: to spread the message of love. We sat down and spoke with Danie-Ela, the Founder of the Tree of HeARTs Foundation, to learn more about this powerful, yet often overlooked, positivity movement she created.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Tree Of HeARTs Foundation connects people through HEART-THEMED-ART created to benefit fellow humans, support our elderly, and empower our children. When a piece of art is created with the intention to be for the good of others and build bridges between us, it becomes an evolutionary tool with huge transformational power.
Our main goal is to spark a conversation, reinvent connections in local communities, inspire creativity, and ignite a meaningful interaction between people, rooted in love, kindness, and compassion. Another goal is to bring awareness to the importance of trees, and how critical they are for us to thrive. Only a few people know there is a stunning resemblance between a human body and a tree. The things we have in common are there to remind us we are not a part of nature; we ARE nature and disconnecting from it is disconnecting from who we actually are.
What problem does it aim to solve?
Separation has been growing exponentially all over the globe and with that inevitably comes unhappiness. In the last two decades, technology alienated us to a large degree but once Covid hit, the division among people took unprecedented levels. At the same time, our innate human nature calls for closeness, connection, and caring for each other because, at our very core, we are a relationally dependent species.
When did you start/join it?
It all started back in the winter of 2021.
What made you want to get involved?
Perhaps my story is like many others… I grew up in a dysfunctional family and despite the love we had for each other, my childhood was full of sorrow. The needed escape and my most beautiful memories were spending time with my grandparents who gave me the gift of unconditional love I am eternally grateful for! Thanks to this precious gift and the array of challenging experiences, I developed a deep interest in the psychology of human connections. I have dedicated my life to learning, exploring, healing, and diving deep to deprogram anything standing in the way of love! And after so many years of self-exploration, I realized that giving and receiving love was the true purpose and why I am here.
I created the Tree of HeARTs platform for people to connect authentically without agendas or expectations, just for the joy of being loving and kind to each other. I also have always loved art and since it is the most universal language, I decided to use it as a tool to connect to each other and share our creativity with the world. ART is a child of the heART and the heart is who we are in our essence. We are all interconnected with invisible threads and when we spread love, embody creativity, and nurture unity and peace, we actually restore the web of life how it was originally designed!
What was the situation like when you started?
We were at the peak of Covid following a global shutdown where families and loved ones were suddenly finding themselves separated, far from each other for an indefinite period. The fear made many people seize their relationships, including family and friends. Separation, loneliness and division were at their highest for all but it was especially challenging for the elderly and children. That is where the idea of bridging the two generations together came from. In the early spring of 2022, we started a project called “Healing Hearts”. The students at Maple Lane Middle School in Port Coquitlam painted 156 beautiful heARTs on pebbles, later distributed to two seniors’ homes.
It was such a rewarding project for both sides. The HeARTs brought lots of joy to the seniors and brightened up their lives, while the children were so encouraged by the positive impact of their initiative. That not only boosted their confidence but also taught them they can make a difference in the lives of others and the world by simply choosing to be creative, compassionate and kind.
How has it changed since?
Life finally took its normal pace but the traces of division and separation between people have not faded completely. Tree Of Hearts has been continuing to expand the “Healing HeARTs” Unity Project by introducing “Paint my Heart” classes coming in early September. Participants can get together to be creative, look within and paint the most beautiful part of them: their Hearts. During this class, we will meditate, share stories, make friends, send ripples of positive vibes and paint two hearts: one the participant will take home and another they will donate. Our goal is to create as many physical Trees Of HeARTs throughout Greater Vancouver as possible, this way more people can benefit and know they are not alone.
Just imagine for a moment on your way home feeling down after a challenging day, you stumble upon a rock with a beautiful, colourful heart. It is like a tiny gem in the concrete jungle you never expected to come across, and you decide to pick it up and on the back of it you read: “This is your sign, much joy is coming your way”. How would that make you feel? Wouldn’t it be amazing to know a stranger left for you to stumble upon; as a reminder that there is good, there is love no matter how dark life might look at times?
A new heart-centred approach to the world and each other is the key to raising our consciousness and the ultimate path to a thriving society based on the principles of unity, cooperation, harmony, peace, and mutual growth.
What more needs to be done?
Our last physical Tree of Hearts was at Hallelujah Point, Stanley Park
As I mentioned, our goal is to create many Tree Of Hearts and make “Healing HeARTs” a global movement. It is time to start shifting the old paradigm of division and fear and create a commUNION between people that feels natural and they enjoy. The easiest way to do that is through being creative and start teaching our kids to stay open, connect authentically, care for others as they do for themselves, and give for the joy of giving!
Giving is a deeply gratifying experience in so many ways and a gift created with the intent to help and support a human being is much more than saying “I care about you”. It has the power to light up their soul and make a tremendous difference that might be unlikely otherwise!
That’s why our goal is to involve more schools, so my call is to the principals, teachers, children and parents to come on board and join us. If our children are encouraged not just to create in their art classes, but create for A CAUSE and donate their adorable art to benefit people around them, that will change so many lives for better! It is time for all of us to shine our light, embody compassion and kindness and start living together in peace and harmony!
Mankind is currently at a pivotal junction in our history and it is time for us to create a global commUNITY based on the principle of the heart where we stay connected to each other, our divine nature, and unshakable faith in the benevolence of the universe. And from that place of inner riches and empowerment, to reach out lovingly and inspire others to do the same!
Do you have any events coming up?
The first “Paint My HeART” class is Sunday September 17th, 2023.
Where can we follow you?
Check our website, and join our “Healing Hearts” Project, or enrol in our upcoming “Paint My Heart” classes which will start this fall on September 17th.
Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share our pages with your friends, so we can reach more people.
