BEND, Ore. – From thousands of handmade stone hearts to hundreds of children’s books, people far from Bend, touched and saddened by the Silver Rail Elementary School tragedy, have been doing what they can to help the kids and community heal.

Thomas Ballard, a Utah resident known as “The Heart Rock Guy” for his global kindness movement, said in an update on his GoFundMe page Tuesday that the first of nearly 9,000 of his heart-shaped rock carvings are on their way to Bend.

Thousands are going to Bend families who reached out, wanting to help distribute them, He said also said he plans to drive to and visit Bend Dec. 11-15 to bring and share thousands more.

Thomas said he started making and sending the stone hearts to school shooting victims after the Uvalde, Texas shooting to help them feel less alone. He’s raised more than $8,800 toward his $9,000 goal for the Bend effort.

Meanwhile, Portland mom Kelsey Melton has raised more than $8,000 on GoFundMe to buy books for children and parents in Bend, “to help everyone navigate their unthinkable loss.”

Melton worked with Cassie Clemans, owner of Bend’s Roundabout Books, to create a list of recommended books to be donated to the school district and public libraries.

In an update posted Wednesday, Melton offered “heartfelt gratitude” to those who have supported the effort. She said Clemans and her staff have been working to locate the needed books and partnered with Deschutes Public Library on a series of story times with librarian Mychal from the Reading Rainbow that took place Monday.

She also shared this update from Clemans: ““To date, Roundabout has used these funds to donate nearly 600 books to schools in the Bend-La Pine School District and other families in need. (Special thank you to the book fairies who have been delivering books to schools all over town the past couple of weeks!).”