One hundred hearts will travel 1,000 miles raising $1,000 for Hospice Yukon.

That's the goal of Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race competitor Michelle Phillips as she takes to the trail on Feb. 14 in Whitehorse.

The veteran Quest musher is once again raising money for the organization, which provides support to those dealing with death, as she competes in the 1,600-kilometre sled dog race to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Phillips has included fund-raising for the organization as part of her previous Quest runs in honour of her friend and fellow Quest musher, Agata Francza, who died of cancer in 2006.

"She wanted to do something this year with a twist," Suzanne Picot, the Hospice's office administrator, said in an interview this morning.

In the past year since she started at Hospice, Picot had brought in the Feelie Heart initiative that she had learned about from other hospice organizations.

"I latched on to the Feelie Heart idea," she said.

The initiative offers small cloth hearts mainly to children who are grieving. It began when a four-year-old who was grieving the death of her mother was given a small fabric heart she could carry with her to remind her of her mom.

"It gave her permission to remember and to grieve her loss, which was too vast for words," it's noted on Hospice's website.

Phillips' Quest run will combine her fund-raising efforts with the Feelie Hearts initiative.

While Hospice offers Feelie Hearts to children who are grieving, these will be limited to 100 special edition gold-trimmed hearts that Phillips will carry in her sled-bag throughout the race.

For a $100 or more donation (that's tax-deductible), contributors will also receive a copy of Phillips' race journal, a photograph of her team and the story of the Feelie Heart, Picot said.

Donations are being taken online and at the Hospice office at 409 Jarvis St. Hospice is also hosting an event on Jan. 31 at the Visitor Information Centre downtown where it will show the documentary Dog Gone Addiction, about female mushers in the Quest, which features Francza.

Phillips will be at the showing with donations being accepted there for the campaign as well.

This year, Phillips said, it was a desire to do something out of the ordinary and give back to those who donate to Hospice that saw her pursue the campaign.

So when Picot brought up the idea of including the Feelie Hearts, Phillips was pleased to add them to her sled bag.

"It's something directly related to Hospice," the musher said in an interview Friday, also pointing out they fit well in a race which starts on Valentine's Day.

Phillips' support of Hospice comes out of her own experience dealing with the deaths of loved ones.

The support she's had from Hospice has helped her work through the grieving process, she's noted in several previous interviews and on her web site.

"I think it is important for everyone to be supported while they are grieving or dying," she notes on her web site.

As the musher helps raise funds for a group that offers support to those dealing with death, Phillips will also be honouring the life of one of her leaders and Quest veteran Taz, who died last spring. Along the trail, Phillips will spread Taz's ashes.

"It was a really big loss," Phillips said as she recalled a dog "obsessed with running."

Taz was a regular on Phillip's team, running in just about every race she competed in.

If there was any chance to run, Taz would take it.

Phillips recalled one occasion where Taz got away from her and Phillips had to go out looking for her.

As she was searching, the dog - "a dominant female" - came running past her and didn't stop until she was home.

"She was a beautiful dog," Phillips said.