Kindness is Cumulative: A Girl Scout Story
At the Heart of It
• A Heart of Hope passes through many, many hands from inception to delivery.
• That means that every act of kindness, now matter how small, has the power to make a difference in others’ grief journeys.
• What we do and share every day can inspire others to do the same, forming a circle of hope.
Hearts of Hope is 25 years old this year. For all that time, we have worked hard to reach out to those facing grief or hardship through programming, education, and community service. All throughout 2026, we’re going to celebrate by sharing stories with you from over the years—stories that move us, inspire us, and remind us about what we do and, more importantly, why we do it.
This month, we want to share one Girl Scout troop’s journey with Hearts of Hope, a years-long story revolving around connection, trust, and the lasting power of small acts of kindness.
At the center of that story is Vesna.
A longtime troop leader and mother of three, Vesna began leading her Girl Scout troop when her daughters entered fifth grade. As part of their service initiatives, the troop spent countless hours running food drives, stocking shelves, and using cookie sale proceeds to support families facing food insecurity.
One day, while talking with a local food pantry, Vesna was shown a ceramic heart that had wound up with the pantry’s founder, who told her the story behind Hearts of Hope. Inspired, Vesna got the troops’ first Hearts of Hope kits and painted them with the girls at their next meeting. That set of hearts sparked what would become years of service.
As the girls grew older, they began organizing Paint With a Purpose events, first within their own troop, then expanding to their entire Girl Scout service unit. At its peak, hundreds of girls, parents, siblings, and community members participated, some traveling over an hour just to be part of it. What began with 25 hearts painted at Vesna’s kitchen table grew into events that produced more than 600 hearts in a single year.
What drew Vesna most deeply to Hearts of Hope wasn’t creativity—she’s quick to say she doesn’t have an artistic bone in her body. It wasn’t a specific event, or a particular cause. It wasn’t even grief.
It was the idea of many hands working together to do something that matters.
From forming the clay to firing, painting, glazing, packaging, shipping, and delivering, every step involves people choosing to care. More than 20 people might touch a single heart before it reaches its recipient, and every one of those touches carries intention, a reminder that kindness is cumulative.
Today, Vesna’s daughters are grown. The troop stayed together all the way to graduation. The hearts they helped create reached hospitals, shelters, and communities across New Jersey. Relationships built years ago still endure, coming full circle in unexpected ways, including one daughter now working as a nurse at a hospital that once received those very hearts.
Looking back, Vesna sees Hearts of Hope not just as a program, but as a living network of trust, compassion, and connection. It taught a generation of girls that their hands and their hearts could make a difference. And that belief, once planted, continues to grow.
There’s nothing that inspires us more than hearing from incredible people like Vesna. Here’s to another 25 years of stories like hers!
If you have a story you’d like to share, contact us! We’re always ready to listen.
