• I’m Sara Kulkarni, a high school junior from New Jersey and the founder of Project Heartstrings.

• My interests have always lived at the intersection of music and science. As a musician, I’ve experienced the emotional depth and connection that music can create. At the same time, my curiosity about medicine—especially the mechanisms behind how the human body heals—has shaped how I see its broader potential. I began to recognize that music is not only an art form, but also a powerful, often underutilized tool for supporting well-being.

• Project Heartstrings was created as my Girl Scout Gold Award project to explore and expand this intersection. What began as a personal passion evolved into a community initiative aimed at bringing music into spaces where it can offer comfort, reduce stress, and foster human connection—particularly in hospitals, senior centers, and other care-focused environments. Through this work, I hope to contribute to a more holistic understanding of healing—one that values both science and the human experience.

Our Mission

Project Heartstrings seeks to advance the role of music as a complementary tool in healing by delivering thoughtful, personalized musical experiences to healthcare and community settings, fostering comfort, connection, and emotional well-being. 

Our Vision

We envision a future in which music is meaningfully integrated into care environments, recognized not only for its artistic value but for its capacity to support healing, enhance quality of life, and strengthen human connection globally. 

Core Values

• Compassion
  We are guided by empathy and a commitment to serving others with care, respect, and understanding.

• Connection
  We believe in the power of music to transcend boundaries and create meaningful human connections.

• Creativity
  We embrace creativity as both an expressive force and a pathway to innovation in how we approach healing.

• Healing
  We are dedicated to advancing awareness of music’s role in supporting emotional and psychological well-being.