WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Jaclyn Semmelink owns The Emporium, a boutique in Warner Robins made up of several smaller local retailers. She says the decision to close her doors at the start of the coronavirus outbreak wasn't easy.
"We have more than 30 vendors and small businesses under one roof with 4,500 square feet of inventory, and it's just sitting there," she said.
Knowing she wasn't the only one feeling the negative impact of the outbreak, she says she wanted to find a way to spread some positivity.
"I saw online that people were doing the 'heart hunters' and putting hearts out," she said.
The initiative started as a way to show love for your community and neighbors during social distancing by putting paper hearts in the windows of homes and businesses.
Semmelink then got the idea to fill her storefront window with painted hearts. She also wanted to include the message 'Robins Strong.'
"We are all in this together," she said. "If we work together as a community, we will come out stronger."
With the help of her daughters, she created the colorful mural so anyone driving down Houston Lake Road could see it.
"Hopefully when people pass by, they'll see it, and it will at least make them smile," she said.
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