The Heightened Hearts Foundation (HH) created by Lyubov Smirnova was born many years ago and stored in her memory for extraction and use later. In 2015, Lyubov set out to create HH, a non-profit organization designed to increase awareness and begin to tackle the many ailments that plague the world’s population. The areas of focus for HH include nutrition, shelter, community support, social skills and interaction, education, and spiritual growth. HH will never be denominational or closed to any human being because of their race, heritage, or geographic location.
Lyubov was raised in a traditional home having a father and a mother in her earliest years. After the loss of Lyubov’s father while still quite young, her mother assumed 100 percent of the responsibility of running a household, raising and providing for seven children. It was during these formative years that Lyubov would develop her love of being in service to others, and the idea of giving on a much larger scale was first conceptualized.
Lyubov’s mother is the type of person who would give the shirt off her back, quite literally. If she noticed anyone showing any signs of chills or shivering, she would stop what she was doing and offer the clothes, she was wearing in order to save another person in duress. She would never stand for any reason that caused a child to go hungry and cared for many. She is the woman who would give her last ration of food to a hungry child and go without. Without ever knowing, Lyubov was learning about kindness and unconditional love. These instincts to be generous and giving of time became so natural that when she grew into a young woman with a big career in front of her, she would turn work away in favor of being available to help out when asked. Lyubov became convinced that giving was never a burden, but a God-given gift and blessing. She was never one who worried about giving to others and is to this day a highly respected entrepreneur, known for her selflessness and always putting others needs in front of her own. You will not meet a person more grateful for the blessings she receives daily.
For years, Lyubov was involved as a principal contributor or board member to several non-profit organizations and charities in the USA and around the world. She was a natural in those areas and was quickly tasked for projects because of the pure illustration of goodness she exuded. It was obvious that her love for others, regardless of having known them previously, was unparalleled. She often went further than expected. She provided the funds personally for patients in need of heart treatments, eye-care, and tumor surgeries. She continues to sponsor many families and individuals by paying for their alcoholic and drug rehabilitation programs. She found herself paying for the school and the clothing for children from her own community.
In the summer of 2008, while working for The Victims of Cancer Foundation in the UK, Lyubov was interviewed by People Magazine when she said: “One day I would like to build a church in my mother’s home town to help bring all the people who are now spread out and separated back together again. I feel like this life is too short and if each of us does something good for another and particularly for those we don’t know, the World truly could and would be wonderfully different place.”
While visiting her family still living in the Ukraine, her mother sat her with her siblings present and announced they would like to give her 7 acres of land with one small consideration. She would have to build her first Orphanage or Spiritual Retreat there. Lyubov agreed and her mother donated 7 acres of land. Not to be overshadowed, her brothers immediately committed food from the family farm to supply the foundation’s first facility every year as long as their was a need. Lyubov could stop dreaming and start getting to work. In this moment, time stood still and Lyubov realized her life-long dream would be realized.
Lyubov is that person who will always pay her gifts and blessings forward. Heightened Hearts is the natural progression in her growing life that will allow her and her colleagues to continue on a path of service.
The first phase of HH is to build a gathering place for anyone who would like to investigate their own spirituality without any pressures from religious leaders, etc. A member of any clergy, sect, church, mosque or synagogue will never chair the HH Center for the advancement of individual spiritual growth. All those who wish to grow themselves in this area are welcome.
When she launched her foundation, Lyubov was asked when she understood that her purpose for being here had manifested. She says in a most delicate voice, “I really don’t know when or where my love of God began. I just know that his spirit lives in me. When I am not being of service to others, I feel an emptiness that is indescribable. Its certainly not how any caring or feeling person would want to live. When I am helping another regardless of the circumstances, I know why I am there.“
Lyubov cannot be anything other than generous and aware of those who are less fortunate. She plans to spend the majority of her life on the development and implementation of her Heightened Hearts Foundation.
