Wilmington teacher sending paper hearts to Newtown

WILMINGTON, Mass. (WHDH) -- A teacher in Wilmington is sending love to the people of Newtown.

He’s using cards to let them know they're in the hearts of everyone in Wilmington.

After the tragedy at Sandy Hook, hearts were broken worldwide, so local teacher Mikey Rickman decided he wanted to let Newtown know the hearts of other towns were with them, by sending paper hearts.

"They come in all shapes and sizes, and people leave notes of inspiration on them and then where they're from," said Mikey Rickman.

“I'm expecting thousands of hearts, and on January 2nd, I’m going to drive down and then drop off the box,” said Rickman.

Sounds like a lofty goal, but Mikey Rickman, a teacher at Woburn Street School, had more than 150 after just a day, and the number quickly grew.

“Yesterday, the final count after less than two days, is 1873,” said Rickman.

A far cry from what he first expected.

“My original goal was a couple hundred, and that was accomplished after the first day,” said Rickman.

He also hopes his project provides solace to more than just the people of Newtown.

“People hate that they can't do much, and they're happy to be able to contribute in some form or fashion,” said Rickman.

Rickman said he'll just drive to Newtown on January 2nd with those hearts and drop them off at a selectperson's office, hoping they can provide any solace to those who have lost so much.