Here's why you've been seeing so many glowing hearts around Toronto

Feb 14 2022, 7:27 pm

A business with a lot of heart is illuminating Toronto streets in honour of frontline and essential healthcare workers.

Jeffery Moss, founder of Moss LED, and now Our Glowing Hearts, has been a passionate member of the production industry in Toronto for years, providing LED products for the cinema, television, and live entertainment industries since 2009. At the pandemic’s onset, that all but screeched to a halt.

The entertainment sector, similarly to the restaurant industry, has faced unprecedented COVID-related closures, delays, and supply-chain disruptions. While faced with the gruelling uncertainty of business and the livelihoods of his employees, Moss was moved by the courage and perseverance of two close friends working in healthcare.

“One of them was working in the emergency wards as an anesthesiologist intubating patients through a large part of the pandemic,” Moss said, recalling the realities of early 2020. “And what they’ve gone through?… While we were trying to ‘hunker down at home’ when there were no vaccines in sight, and nobody knew what was going on. It’s just so inspiring that people worked through that for this long.”

our glowing hearts

Courtesy of Our Glowing Hearts

At the time, that stark reality was not something Moss could allow his friends and beloved community to go through alone. Driven by the motivation to support his friends, community, and employees in any way he safely could, Our Glowing Hearts was created.

“It started out extremely hyper-local, really a neighbourhood project of myself and my neighbours in the Riverside-Leslieville area, but it wasn’t any more than 20 or 30 homes.”

Using raw materials, the Moss LED production facility, and a whole lot of elbow grease, Moss and his team of employees began to create heart-shaped LED lights as a symbol of togetherness for essential and healthcare workers who braved the worst of the pandemic.

“By the time the fall came around, we had a fair amount of our core customers coming back, which was the film and television community, and supporting our business. And when that happened, coupled with the Harts becoming quite more popular and getting some press and more social media surrounding the hearts, we thought, let’s give back to the community that supported us and really try to realign our efforts and give a portion of the proceeds to our neighbourhood. And at the time, our choice was Michael Garron Hospital Foundation.”

Now, glowing hearts posted in windows around the city serve as a symbol of encouragement. As the orders continued to come in, so did Moss LED’s commitment to giving back. Each of the hearts listed on the website supports varying initiatives at purchase, from the Micheal Garron Hospital Foundation to the World Wildlife Fund.

our glowing hearts

Courtesy of Our Glowing Hearts

“We’ve never experienced a time in our lives when we’ve been told that it’s not okay to go see your parents or your brother or your friends. That’s really, I think, unexplainable amounts of isolation for people. And I think that having seen more and more hearts go into people’s windows, even today, that’s part of why it’s resonating,” Moss says.

Nearly two years later, the reception to the project has grown to be more than they could have ever imagined. Whether you’re on the way to or returning from work, out for a stroll or making another trip to the grocery store for some excitement, the moving symbol can be spotted everywhere, warming and lighting the way.

our glowing hearts

Courtesy of Our Glowing Hearts

“We thought once our core business started back up again, it would be something that we would likely stop doing; that clearly is not the case at this point,” says Moss. “To see it still in so many windows and still going so strong, I think, is what really blows me away the most. It’s obviously struck a chord in the larger community.”

As Ontario and governments around the world face numerous challenges along the road to a return to normalcy, Moss encourages fellow business owners and community members to remain resilient while doing what is best for themselves.

“Be resilient, creative, and adaptable; however, be honest with yourself to know when forging onwards is doing more harm than good to your own wellbeing and that of your family, colleagues, and customers.”

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