"Without your caring and kindness, we might not have made it through..."

Friend, for good or bad, it's hard to ignore when Valentine's Day is here. This year we want to take advantage of this special time for love and appreciation to recognize the vaccinators who have sacrificed so much over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic to save millions of lives across the world.

We've been collecting notes of thanks and gratitude (like the ones above) over the past year to show the health workers giving vaccinations that we aren't taking their time and tireless efforts for granted. Without their willingness to work in difficult, stressful and sometimes uncomfortable situations, day in and day out, often without sufficient pay or time to rest, more lives would have been lost. Without them, we wouldn't have the degree of normalcy we have back in our lives now.

Even though we all struggle to deal with the ongoing effects of the pandemic on our lives, we must continue to lift up the vaccinators working to make us all safer. With the amount of stress and trauma many of our vaccinators are facing, it's no surprise that almost half are dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and over a third with depression.

With your help, Project HOPE is providing mental health training for vaccinators and frontline workers. Our goal is to serve 51,000 health care professionals across five continents so even more doctors, nurses and others have the tools they need to safeguard their own mental health and relieve stress.

We hope you feel inspired to join us in honoring the vaccinators who have gotten us through this pandemic so far. Take a moment to thank the health care workers in your life on Valentine's Day and find ways to support them on the issues that effect them most. And thank you for being part of our Project HOPE family today and every day!