Twelve-year-old Heather Rohn of Zephyrhills has undertaken a big project, to let every soldier know they are loved back home. She is doing this by paining stones.

“I think of them as family members I haven’t met. Or friends I haven't met,” said Heather.

She spends hours every day painting American Flags on glass stones, and sends them overseas. She calls them “Hope Stones.”

“They come home sometimes to hatred and sadness and when I give them the “Hope Stones,” they can always remember that I’m 12 years old and I want them to live,” she said.

Each stone takes about an hour to paint.

“It usually is really hard. But since I do it a lot I have the hang of it,” she said.

Heather has sent and given away hundreds of her hand painted stones. Just recently she had a soldier thank her for her work and he gave her a patch. She in return gave him a promise.

“That I will keep doing this for him and other soldiers,” she said.

Along with the “Hope Stones,” Heather also sends the soldiers letters. She tells them that she wants them to come home safe, that she is thinking of them and she thanks them for their service.

“Thank you for your service and the sacrifice you made for our country and our freedom. Love, Heather."