“Put a little love in your heart,

And the world will be a better place,

And the world will be a better place,

For you and me,

You just wait and see.”

Students arrived on Friday morning to a special surprise from the SMCHS club Peacemakers club. Most lockers were decorated with a heart which included a motivational phrase.

“It was called Hand Over a Heart Campaign,” said Club President junior Shannon Pierson. “We put a heart on people’s lockers. We wanted to cover everyone’s lockers, but we only made 1,500.”

The club members cut out the encouraging notes with instructions on them and taped them on the hearts, which were professionally cut by a scrapbooking store. The hearts were placed on students’ lockers Thursday evening.

There were five ideas written on the hearts – peace of mind, joy, love, hope and strength. The campaign was all about the idea of empathy, and its goal was to spread love amongst SMCHS students.

The instructions directed the students to give the heart to someone who needed the big idea printed on the heart. For example, if the heart had peace of mind written on it, the student was asked to give the heart to someone who needed some piece of mind.

“We wanted to encourage everyone to spread love through campus and show that everyone has people to lean on whether they realize it or not,” said junior Charlotte Driscoll, club public relations director. “We have to all be there for each other, and I think this campaign really highlighted that.”

Pierson explained this idea came from The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket, a famous idea that explains why everyone should reach out to others and express love, respect and appreciation.

“Everyone has their own bucket of water,” Pierson said.  Every time you help someone you, you pour some of your water into their bucket. By also saying or doing these positive things, we also fill our own buckets.”

The Peacemakers club members felt that this campaign was a huge success and really shared their message of empathy. They hoped that SMCHS students would realize they need to support each other.

“We wanted to encourage people to step into the shoes of their classmates and try to understand what sort of help they needed,” Driscoll said. “As far as how things went on Friday I definitely call it a success because I feel like the hearts really served as a reminder that no one is alone and that there is always love to be spread.”

Peacekeepers club was started this year in an attempt to reach out to others on campus.

“The overall message of the Peacemakers club is one of PEACE: Peace, Empathy, Acceptance, Compassion and Equanimity,” Driscoll said. “Our goal is to promote an environment centered on these ideas, and to reach out to all of our Eagle family as a reminder of the kindness and respect that humankind deserves.”

While there most likely will not be another heart campaign until next year (the club tries to focus on a new idea every month), the club assures students that another campaign will happen soon.

“The minima [campaign] that we repeat is Flower Friday,” Driscoll said. “It will definitely be happening again this year, probably in the not-too-distant future.”

“Put a little love in your heart,

If you want the world to know,

We won’t let hatred grow,

Put a little love in your heart.”

– Put a Little Love in Your Heart, Dolly Parton