Our Hope Tree Recap!
Thank you to everyone who came to our first Hope Tree event in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles!
This project really began a year ago when dozens of humble and curious Community Listeners set foot onto the sidewalks of their own neighborhood to ask friends, family, and strangers one question: What do you hope for?
Conversation after conversation taught them new things about their neighbors. Listening changed them. The heart of their community was opened up.
Just 12 months later… what an marvelous sight to see those 300 raw, honest, REAL hopes from REAL neighbors in Eagle Rock playfully fluttering in the breeze of one of the community’s most beautiful parks.
This was absolutely breathtaking.
Our event began with a little help from Eagle Rock High School and a half dozen students who graciously helped hang each hope, leaf-by-leaf, on the branches of the tree. Soon, they were reading the leaves out loud to one another.
“Monica: I hope to continue learning how to love.”
“Karol hopes to get his son back.”
“Joey: I hope to become a professional skateboarder.”
As more and more Eagle Rock neighbors of all ages came to the tree, we invited them to add their own hope to the conversation.
Click here to download a PDF of the 350+ hopes we heard in Eagle Rock, California.
Corinna: “I hope for healing in the city.”
Elise, 8: “I hope for equality and rights for everyone.”
Rachel, 47: “My hope… a grandbaby.”
These are just a few of Eagle Rock’s hopes. You can download a PDF of all 350 hopes by clicking the booklet cover on the right. It’s page after page of REAL thoughts and feelings. Take a moment and read through it. We invite you to let their words teach and transform you.
For me, the most unforgettable part of the event came at sunset. Our volunteers and I walked over to the tree, ready to pack up the project leaf-by-leaf. But, we stopped in front of it and simply didn’t want to. It was just too beautiful. Here was this unassuming tree—its grafted-on paper leaves swirling in the wind—that told this community’s story. A story that told the true, unabridged, open, and honest goings-on of this neighborhood. A story of people and the most important things in their lives. How could we possibly take it down?
Unfortunately, we had to do it. We didn’t want the paper leaves to accidentally fall down and litter the park. In the meantime, we are working diligently to get the tree re-installed at another location (or even several locations) in Eagle Rock, so that these hopes can be shared and even more can be added.
Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped make leaves, hang them, and shared these hopes with the community. Thank you to the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council for organizing such a fantastic event. Here’s to more events in the future and (I hope!) more ways for this neighborhood to listen, learn, and grow.
- Sam Lundquist and the Hope Chronicles Team
If you’re interested in a Hope Chronicles event with your organization, club, school, or house of worship, please contact us at hope@thehopechronicles.org.
Event Photos:
Tags: california, eagle rock, hope tree
2 comments
Sam,
Thank you for chronicling the hopes of Eagle Rock. What a treasure to share in the reflections
and hopes of our community.
On my upcoming trip to Jamaica, we will be gathering the hope of our friends living in Mandeville.
I love that this is duplicatable and grows our hearts as we do this exercise.
Many thanks to you and your team at HC for your presence at last weeks event!
Clee
Sam,
It was a great event! I’m so glad that I got to help make the leaves! The tree looked awesome and I’m excited to see more trees like this in the future! Keep up the great Hope Chronicles work!!!
Melissa