Crest Hill woman creates 'Window of Hope' to thank first responders

CREST HILL, Ill. (WLS) -- A Crest Hill woman is inviting everyone to show a little kindness and give a lot of thanks to the men and women on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I thought every day I would put something up in my window," Mary Ann Sternisha said. "I'm calling it the Window of Hope Challenge."

Her call to action to spread positivity in uncertain times began as an activity for her grandkids. Now, it's slowly becoming a movement of its own.

"I just drove around the neighborhood today and there are still people that have things in their windows and it's just kind of cool," Sternisha said.

For Sternisha, deciding to focus on thanking first responders with these messages was easy because of their hard work and a personal connection.

"Well, my son-in-law's in healthcare - not on the front lines, but involved in health care - and I have cousins that are firemen. My neighbor across the street as a fireman/first responder/paramedic. And so I thought, you know, they really are the first ones on the scene so that's why I wanted to thank them first," Sternisha said.

The plan is to add something new to her sign every day and hope all of you take part.

"We bring some sunshine into people's lives right now... I mean, the fear of the unknown is very, it's just scary. It's a scary time," Sternisha said. "We've never been through anything like this so, it's just messages of hope. And being thankful to the people that are still keeping us going."