A chain reaction of caring began when Kaziah Hancock, a portrait painter, established Project Compassion in 2002. Moved by the deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, she determined to provide military families with gallery-quality oil portraits of their lost loved ones. The news media provided the next link in the chain, widely publicizing the artist's gift of time and talent.

In turn, members of the Celebration church in Redlands were deeply touched as they learned of Hancock’s ministry to families she did not know. Taking action, the congregation located Erica Espiritu, mother of three and widow of a soldier from Camp Pendleton, and invited her to worship with them on Dec. 16, 2006. Steve Daily, pastor, presented her with a $10,000 check, provided by a family whom the Celebration church had helped during a crisis.

Completing the circle of caring, church members also donated $1,000 to Project Compassion to aid Hancock in her on-going work. For more information, see www.heropaintings.com.