Celebrating 120 Years, These 11 Super-Sized Conversation Hearts Leave Boston on April 3

They appeared around Valentine's Day and are disappearing in a couple of weeks.  It's all to celebrate a very happy birthday to those ever-so-popular sweetheart candies.  Of course I'm talking about conversation hearts, which turned 120 years old this year.

So join the celebration in Boston's Seaport District for some Instagram-worthy friendship and love.

There's a free public art display called  “Heart Warming" through April 3, 2022 according to Seaport Boston.  It's at The Rocks at Harbor Way along the waterfront, and consists of 11 of these super-sized hearts nestled around the walkway.

The really heartwarming part of this art installation is that it's more than just taking photos and selfies.  It's also supporting "Letters Against Isolation."  The Seaport Boston website explains that this nonprofit's goal is to help combat loneliness for senior citizens around the world.

Write a note on a heart warming postcard and pop it in our mailbox – we’ll send them to residents of assisted living facilities who could use a sweet surprise.

These notes dropped into the white mailbox will reach senior citizen living facilities around the globe, to hopefully help keep some kind of connection alive.  "Letters Against Isolation" was started by two sisters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

We realized that without visitors or the ability to interact with the wider world, many senior citizens may be growing lonely. Senior loneliness is a well-documented issue and has effects not only on seniors’ mental health but on their physical health. We believed that we could do something to help this situation. We decided to spread some joy and write handwritten letters to residents of assisted living facilities and care homes.

Here's a minute-long story from NBC News back in 2020 when sisters Shreya and Saffron started this project.

And you should see how many letters and cards filled with creativity have been going out since this NBC News report.  'Heartwarming' truly is the perfect word.

If you'd like more info on how you can volunteer with Letters Against Isolation, click here.