Dozens of people came out to Newtown Community Center February 8 to support Hearts of Hope Newtown and their “Paint with a Purpose” event for active-duty military members.

State Representatives Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) and Martin Foncello (R-107), and Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) were among the more than 40 people who painted ceramic hearts to send to the 514th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.

In past years, Hearts of Hope solicited donations from each person painting a ceramic heart, but this year the American Legion sponsored the Newtown event.

Foncello is a member of the Legion, having retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from military intelligence with the Army. He also served in Washington, D.C. immediately following 9/11. Bolinsky is a Son of the American Legion member.

“Valentine’s Day is a day of expressing the love you have for someone special in your life; I believe we can all agree each and every one of our veterans deserve to feel the love we have for the sacrifices they and their families have made,” said Bolinsky. “I want to thank the American Legion for sponsoring this wonderful event and all the volunteers who responded to our invitation to be a part of this awesome evening!”

“I am proud to stand with the American Legion and support Hearts of Hope to foster kindness and send hope to our Troops,” said Foncello.

Captain Gracie Cudney, a member of the 514th, made a visit to Newtown Community Center to discuss the work of the squadron and their upcoming deployment overseas. Cudney said her unit is a reserve unit of about 130 members that does “a lot of deployments.”

“Our goal is to maintain the status of the patient while on the aircraft,” said Cudney. “We can treat the patient to bring him or her back to a stable condition if they take a turn for the worse. The unit responds to both medical and aircraft emergencies while evacuating sick or wounded personnel from combat zones.”

Cudney expressed her appreciation to the painters for their work and said she was going to be keeping one of the finished hearts. Hearts of Hope Newtown board member Diane Sarna said that she’s never seen the room so full for a winter painting event.

American Legion Post 202 Commander Donna Monteleone said that Hearts of Hope always tries to give the hearts in a way that has a Newtown connection. Last year, they were sent with Dr Sean Lee when he was doing dental work overseas for soldiers.

“We find a way to work together, to lift each other and support each other,” Monteleone said.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.