In today’s fast-paced, 24-hour news saturated world, it’s easy to forget that across the street, or just down the block there are good people doing good things. At Community Coffee, we see every day as an opportunity to be better and do better – as individuals and as a company. The four generations of family values that drive us to make the best coffee possible are the same values that inspire us to be the best coffee company possible. And to recognize and celebrate the people and organizations in the communities we serve that share those values. The ones who choose to make a difference in the world, for themselves, their families and their neighbors. Today is what we make it. Let’s make it right. Let’s make it strong. Let’s make it Community.

We identified a warehouse with exposed brick and high ceilings in a diverse neighborhood in downtown Dallas. The space had garage doors on either end that we opened in order to create traffic flow from one busy street to the next. We then created hundreds of postcards featuring vintage images of Dallas on one side, and the greeting “Dear Neighbor” on the back with blank lines for people to write a personal note. The cards were hung at eye level with wooden clothespins hand-stamped with #MakeItCommunity. Additional cards and pens were placed on tables in the center of the gallery. Hand-painted signs invited passersby to participate. Once inside, printed banners adorned the brick walls encouraging people to create a hand-written note to their neighbor that expressed their gratitude, hopes or dreams.

With a budget of only $7,600 USD, we developed and installed most of the elements that made up the gallery ourselves. In the first three days the gallery was visited by hundreds of people, with numerous bloggers, social media influencers and news reporters helping spread the word. Local musicians set up in the space, and several photographers and directors leveraged the gallery for their own projects, including an impromptu visit from ABC’s “The Bachelor” Sean Lowe and his wife Catherine. The initial supply of materials were hung in the first week, forcing us to double the size of the project. Ultimately, more than 1,600 postcards were filled out and displayed. Over the next three weeks, thousands more visitors came through the gallery, engaged with the messages, shared them on Instagram and Facebook and found comfort in the kind, caring and optimistic words of strangers.