Dronfield to say ‘thank you’ to key workers with heart-shaped memorial

A partnership between children’s art project Dronfield Rocks and the local Sainsbury’s will see 120 individually painted rocks set into cement and added to the store’s community garden.

Organisers say the memorial is the town’s way of saying thank you to the NHS, care, retail and emergency staff who continued working throughout the pandemic.

It is the brainchild of Joanne Tanner, who works in the Argos store at Sainsbury’s, and Tracey Wray, who runs Dronfield Rocks.

Joanne said: “We have been overwhelmed with how many people have taken part. Dronfield has really come together again for all the key workers. It has shown that we all appreciate what everyone has done.

“The community garden is in an area that lots of people walk past when they are doing their shopping or when they are going down to the barn so the rocks will stay there forever for people to see.”

Joanne said the decorated rocks come in all different shapes, sizes and ability levels and in the garden will be set in cement into a heart shape.

She said: “Children and adults alike have taken part. We have some from amateur artists and some from children as young as one.

“Every person that has created their masterpiece, from ages one to 50. What they’ve done is amazing.”

The Dronfield Rocks children’s art project dates back to 2017 and sees decorated stones deposited in places around the town for other youngsters to find.

The Facebook group was set up by Tracey Wray as a way of getting children ‘off the Xbox’, out of the house and into the great outdoors.

It is based on a model that originally comes from America but has increasingly been picked up in the UK including in nearby Totley.

The rocks will be set in place at the community garden on Wednesday, July 1.

To find out more about Dronfield Rocks visit www.facebook.com/groups/111818446156791.

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