LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Grief and loneliness are emotions that can be amplified on holidays like Valentine’s Day.
"Probably about 10 years ago, I was single, and you know how Valentine's Day can be kind of depressing when you don't have somebody," said Marshunda Jones.
Around a decade ago, Jones went through a divorce, but her time of grief inspired her to do something greater— to give love outwardly even if she didn’t feel it inside.
“I like to think about affirmations, so I am, that lets me know that because he is, I am. So even though I might not feel those things, I might not feel pretty, I might not feel loved, I might not feel those things. But because he is love, I am loved, and I can have love. So that's just how I feel about it," Jones said.
Over the last 10 years, Marshunda has impacted over 400 women through the Valentine’s Project by providing women of abuse, hardship, and heartache with a reminder that they matter.
With the help of her community partners, she shows that sentiment by donating needed items to shelters, along with small trinkets like silver bracelets with the phrase 'I am enough' inscribed on the inside.
“No matter what's going on in your life, it's an opportunity for them to always look inside of that bracelet and remember that inside of them, they are still enough no matter what's happened to them, no matter what their circumstances, no matter what they've had to go through in their life, their past," Jones explained. "None of that disqualifies them from being enough and worthy of love.”
Over the years, the project has grown. This year, several donated necessities will be donated to women and families of Desired Haven of Little Rock and the Center For Healing Hearts and Spirits.
“Even now that I'm married, I have continued this throughout the years, you know, because it's important to me. And especially when I meet other women who have been impacted by the project, it's just changed my life," Jones said.
She hopes that her passion and commitment to helping others will be a trickle-down effect for others.
“I just really care about people, I just really want to love on people. I just want to be kind to people. So that's what I really care about," Jones described. "So I hope that that's the legacy that I'm leaving. I'm just blazing a path for other people so that they can see that I was just one person and this was just one little idea."
To find out more about the Valentine's Project, click here.