Unity Spark Project
Puyallup Community Lab
The vibrant community of Puyallup, Washington serves as the dynamic epicenter for our groundbreaking work in fostering connections within, between and across the Beloved Community. Here, we cultivate an inclusive environment where innovative approaches to unity and collaboration are explored, refined, and celebrated.
This community is the living laboratory where we bridge gaps, build alliances, and create lasting bonds that transcend cultural and societal boundaries.
We're bringing back the lost art of knowing your neighbor – because everyone deserves to feel seen, safe and connected.
Unity Spark is launching Hello Puyallup: Images of Our Beloved Community—neighbors interviewing and photographing neighbors so our city can truly see each other (City Art Walk). Then we turn ‘seeing’ into ‘belonging’ through Summer Fun Groups and deepen it through weekly Cultural Exchange Experiences. In October, we celebrate everything we learned with a community festival inspired by Folklorama—pavilions, food, performances, and stories.
The outcome is simple:
a more socially connected Puyallup, because:
(1) strong human connection is the foundation of individual wellbeing and a thriving, resilient community.
(2) when people are seen, known, and connected, wellbeing grows and the Beloved Community becomes possible.
(3) social connection is one of the strongest predictors of health, happiness, and community resilience.
(4) belonging heals, connection strengthens, and communities flourish when no one feels invisible.
(5) communities with strong social bonds experience greater wellbeing, trust, and shared responsibility for one another.
(6) connection is how wellbeing takes root and a community learns to thrive together.
This is our Civic Call to Action!
Our Foundational Invitation
Our Guiding Call
Our Core Civic Message
Our Unifying Call to Begin
Hello Neighbor
Say hello to a neighbor you haven’t met.
We don’t heal communities by arguing.
We heal them by beginning.
Division is the poison.
Connection is the cure.
BE THE ANTIDOTE.
Start with hello.