Heartfelt Community

08/09/2026

WOW, this book.

"The Validation Breakthrough" (Third Edition) by Naomi Feil and Vicki de Klerk-Rubin offers a compassionate alternative.

Instead of trying to ground people living with Alzheimer’s or dementia in our reality, the Validation Method teaches us how to step into theirs.

Caregivers, family members, licensed massage therapists, senior living community staff, and volunteers, if you want to:

✨ Reduce anxiety and agitation
✨ Connect meaningfully, even when words are difficult
✨ Build trust and mutual dignity

This book is an invaluable guide. Should Heartfelt Community start a Book Club? 📖✨

08/09/2026

Did we mention that River Organics is one of our Heartfelt Stewards as we launch Volume II of What These Hands Have Seen?!

This beautiful book features 50 of our local elders, sharing their stories alongside photographs that honor the beauty, wisdom, and lives held within their hands.

Our Corporate Legacy Sponsors truly define what it means to be a Heartfelt Community. Their support helps us honor our elders, preserve their stories, and continue creating meaningful connections through Heartfelt Community.

Thank you, River Organics, for believing in this work and helping us celebrate the hands that have seen so much.

We are grateful to have you as a Heartfelt Steward! 💙

💚 Celebrating Our Founding Legacy Partner 💚

We are honored to recognize **River Organics** as the very first **Legacy Partner** supporting the publication of *What These Hands Have Seen – Volume II.*

Their $1,000 partnership donation helps launch our goal of raising **$50,000 to bring the stories of 50 seniors in our community to life**. These stories preserve wisdom, history, resilience, and the lives that helped shape the world we live in today.

By stepping forward as our **Founding Legacy Partner**, River Organics is helping ensure these voices are heard, remembered, and honored.

When local businesses invest in the dignity and stories of our elders, something beautiful happens—community grows stronger.

Thank you, River Organics, for leading the way. 🌿

If you know and love River Organics, take a moment to show them some support and appreciation for helping preserve the stories of our seniors.

08/08/2026

A HUGE thank you to to Knott Alone-HOLD FAST for your generous support as a Legacy Book Celebration Sponsor! Your support means so much to our elders. We especially are grateful as we love serving all elders and our elder veterans are truly loved. God bless the work of your hands as you bless ours.

If you would like to become a Legacy Sponsor for our upcoming book production of What These Hands Have Seen, join us here:
https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/heartfelt-community/legacy-partnership

Hold Fast empowers veterans through crisis support, peer connections, seafood sales & ecotours—helping them heal, rebuild & thrive.

08/06/2026

Wonderful updates from the grant received from Massage Therapy Foundation. We have been so fortunate to have received this grant and our veterans have enjoyed the service so much.

Learn more about the impact of MTF’s 2025 Community Service Award to Heartfelt Community of Gloucester, VA, for their project, "Compassionate Touch for Veterans with Dementia.” The grant is over halfway completed, and has already made a huge impact on the lives of the veterans it serves: https://bit.ly/4fBhlfR

08/06/2026

📚 PRE-ORDER IS NOW OPEN! ❤️🙌

I’m thrilled to announce that What These Hands Have Seen: Volume II is officially available for pre-order!

This isn’t just a book—it’s a collection of the stories, wisdom, life lessons, and legacy of our friends and neighbors from Gloucester and Mathews County. Together, we’re preserving voices that deserve to be remembered for generations to come.

By pre-ordering, you’re helping bring this project to life while ensuring your copy is reserved before the official release (November 14th)

✨ Reserve your copy today by clicking the link below:

https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/heartfelt-community/book-pre-sale

Thank you for believing in this mission and for helping us honor the elders who have shaped our community. Every pre-order helps preserve their wisdom for future generations.

❤️ Please share this post with your family and friends. Together, we can make sure these incredible stories reach far beyond Gloucester and Mathews County.

08/06/2026

❤️ Sponsor an Elder. Leave a Legacy.

Our goal is to sponsor all 50 elders featured in What These Hands Have Seen: Volume II.

Each sponsorship is $250 and includes:
📖 Your name or business proudly listed in the book
📚 One copy of Volume II for you
❤️ One copy gifted to an elder participant
🥂 Two seats at our Book Reveal Celebration on November 14

My mission is simple:
50 elders. 50 sponsors.

I’ll be updating our progress until every elder has been sponsored!

Please let me know in the comments if you’d like to sponsor an elder, and I’ll reach out!

Donate here:
https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/heartfelt-community/legacy-partnership

Together, let’s honor the wisdom, stories, and legacy of the elders who have shaped our community. ❤️

08/06/2026

How did Heartfelt Community begin?

I had dreamed of serving in Africa since I was 11 years old, but as a brand-new massage therapist, I never felt qualified. I believed Africa needed doctors and teachers—not someone like me.

08/01/2026

"For many, that may be the only place they will allow themselves to let go."

— American Massage Therapy Association

07/31/2026

Great information!!