Our CEO Sam met Hannah at the Big Pitch Event in Westminster, a day ‘filled with powerful conversations, inspiring ideas, and a shared commitment to transforming care through innovation’. Hannah shared her story of bereavement during COVID-19, leading us to get involved with the Yellow Heart project.
“I lost my grandmother, Sheila, to COVID-19 on Easter Sunday in 2020. While much of the country has moved forward, for many of us life has been permanently changed. Behind every daily statistic of loss was a name, a face, and a family left behind. We were one of them.
A Conversation That Sparked a Movement
Not long after Grandma passed, my Grandad called me. He wanted people to understand that the pandemic wasn’t just about numbers, it was about people. For every life lost, there were countless others left grieving. Even if you didn’t know someone who had died, you almost certainly knew someone who was grieving.
Grandad spoke about how during the Vietnam War families would tie yellow ribbons around their door handles to show they were waiting for someone to come home. As we were in lockdown, and yellow ribbons weren’t something people could easily get hold of, I suggested we draw yellow hearts. We encouraged others who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 to place them in their windows too- a simple but powerful sign that their home had been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yellow heart window sign
From One Window to Thousands
I shared a photo of a yellow heart in my window on Facebook, explaining its purpose. To my surprise, the post was shared thousands of times. Yellow hearts began to appear in windows across the UK and internationally.
I then created a Facebook group so that my Grandad could see some of the yellow hearts. What started as a way to share photos of yellow hearts quickly evolved into something much more important: a support network for anyone bereaved during the pandemic. We had all experienced loss in isolation, many of us unable to say goodbye, attend funerals, or lean on loved ones in our grief. The group gave us a space to grieve together despite being apart. At its peak, it had nearly 8,000 members. We welcome not only the bereaved, but also anyone who wants to offer support.
Lasting Remembrance
The campaign grew beyond anything we could have imagined. The yellow heart became a national and international symbol of remembrance for those lost during the pandemic and a symbol of support for those left behind.
Yellow hearts were displayed in shopping centres, on the doors of St Paul’s Cathedral as part of the Remember Me memorial, and even on a Williams Racing Formula 1 car. My Grandad was also honoured as a “Point of Light” by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Today, while much of the world has returned to normality, for many of us the pain is still raw. We don’t want to forget the pandemic, not because we want to hold on to the pain, but because to forget the pandemic would mean forgetting the people we lost. That’s why I’m now working with the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport on long-term plans for COVID commemoration.
Yellow Hearts badge
Yellow Hearts and the National Day of Reflection
To continue raising awareness, we’ve been distributing yellow heart badges to NHS staff, emergency workers, charities, and members of the public. We’re encouraging everyone to wear them in the week leading up to the next COVID-19 Day of Reflection, which will take place on Sunday 9th March 2026.
Thank you to Healthwatch Essex for your support, and for helping to ensure that the losses endured during the pandemic are not forgotten.
If you’ve been affected by bereavement during the pandemic, or if you’d like to support others who have, we invite you to join the Yellow Hearts to Remember Facebook group and share your story. Your heart matters too.”