“I’m reminded of the people who are grieving, who were left behind, and the importance of paying the love forward that was given to us.”

Those words drive Heather Dearman, the CEO of the 720 Foundation, which was born in the wake of the Aurora theater shooting to support people and communities healing after mass casualty events.

The foundation is collecting paper cranes with words of support to send to residents of Lewiston, Maine, following the Oct. 25 shooting that killed 18 people and injured 13 others.

Dearman’s cousin, Ashley Moser, was shot in the Aurora shooting, losing her unborn child, her 6-year-old child and becoming paralyzed. On July 20, 2012, a gunman stormed the Century 16 theater and killed 12 people and injured 70 more.

Following the tragedy, Dearman took time off work to grieve and came back to see banners and the thousand paper cranes sent to the city in support.

“I remember feeling an overwhelming feeling that there was more love in the world than hate and I think that is what’s been keeping me going over the years,” Dearman said.

Following mass shootings like that at the theater in Aurora, the foundation sends wreaths made of origami cranes containing words of peace and love to communities experiencing similar trauma.

The Aurora History Museum will always have origami instructions and supplies available and community crane folding sessions occur throughout the year.

On Oct. 25, seven people were killed at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and eight more were killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston, Maine. Three others died after being taken to the hospital, according to Maine State Police.

The suspect, 40-year-old Army reservist Robert Card, was found dead near Lisbon Falls two days later, according to Gov. Janet Mills in a news conference.

The origami crane tradition began 11 years ago following the Aurora theater shooting when the city received 1,000 paper cranes from a community in Missouri, a project started by then 15-year-old Nate Williams.

“Love is ever lasting and ever abundant, so though some paper cranes may need to be used for wreaths, our goal is to continue to fold and collect origami cranes indefinitely to be a visual display of the amount of never-ending love and compassion that is abundant in this world,” according to the foundation website.

Every time Dearman hears about another mass shooting, her heart sinks. It usually takes her a week or two before she has the strength to read the bios of those killed in the shootings, she said.

It’s difficult to find the strength to ask everyone for support in making cranes and writing notes, but when they receive letters back from the community telling them how much it meant, she remembers why they keep doing it, she said.

“I’m reminded of the people who are grieving, the people who were left behind and the importance of paying love forward that was given to us,” Dearman said. “It may be even a little bit of small comfort knowing that there are people out in the world who are not just desensitized and moving on saying it’s the norm.”

While it’s difficult to make the wreaths, it’s also healing, Dearman said.

“You’d think it would be hard to tell your story over and over again, but you’re helping other people know that they’re not alone,” she said.

The idea of a wreath of cranes began when the foundation submitted a crane wreath to the city’s Festival of Wreaths, Dearman said.

Seeing how beautiful the wreath was, they decided to keep making those — instead of the banners with words of support they made previously — to send to communities experiencing the trauma of a mass shooting.

“It’s like a circle of healing, it’s the perfect symbol of people coming together,” Dearman said. “The fact that everyone’s crane is unique … it might not look perfect, just like the journey of healing. It’s not a perfect journey.”

In addition to making cranes, the foundation provides services to communities healing from mass shooting trauma. Specifically, the foundation is big on advocating for long-term healing.

“Everyone is there for us in the beginning time, which is wonderful, but as the years go on that help and support isn’t there has much,” Dearman said. “Some people aren’t ready to get help at all until later on.”

Communities will often reach out to foundation after experiencing a mass shooting for advice, which a library in Lewiston did Friday to ask how Aurora’s library supported people in 2012.

People interested in making cranes can do so in one of three ways:

• Via mail: 7-20 Memorial Foundation, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy., Aurora, CO 80012.
• Via the Aurora History Museum: Drop cranes off or make one at the crane station by making a reservation at auroramuseum.org.
• Via social media: Write a comment on the 7-20 Foundation’s Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram page and they will put it on a crane to add to the wreath.