After Albertans rallied to sell out the STARS Air Ambulance lottery, the organization is saying thank you to Albertans with a specially designed decal.

These days, STARS Air Ambulance aircraft is sporting a new decal bearing a message that’s striking a chord with many.

The decal reads: Times are tough, Albertans are tougher, alongside an image of Alberta, with a heart – the entire decal is surrounded with a three-line border, emulating the three lines on every STARS helicopter.

The message a reminder that Alberta residents helped STARS reach its target for their lottery, and it did not go unnoticed.

Now, the organization has made a smaller-scale version of the decal available online – with the goal of showing support at a time when unemployment is up, and families are struggling.

“They’re tougher when they recover from the horrible adversity that they experience,” Kady Hobbins with STARS said. “They’re tough when they help support our lottery as well.”

For Michelle Bolstad – who now has the decal on her motorcycle – the cause holds a special place in her heart.

“My sticker arrived in the mail yesterday, I put it on, and within ten minutes STARS flew over my house,” Bolstad said.

She knows two people who have been helped by STARS, and says their red helicopters fly near her home often.

“Everytime [we hear them] my husband will say, someone is not having as good a day as us, we think about them,” Bolstad said.

The decals are available online.

With files from Michel Boyer