James Panagoti, a cafe owner of RedBrick Pizza was inspired to step out out of his circle to interact with those on the streets. After driving by an individual holding a sign he thought about all of the individuals passing by and how they are effected. "Each of those signs effects us," says James. "Everything effects us, positive or negative." Each moment of your day effects you and those you interact with. Your actions will even effect those that you have not interacted with directly. An example would be someone telling another person a story about you. That story could be positive or negative. What effects us even more is how we respond to those individuals on the streets. Do we ignore them? Do we give them money? Is there a generic solution? "I believe each individuals situation is unique, therefore each solution has to be unique" says James.
We wanted to feed the homeless in exchange to trade signs for at least one hour. The signs we created revolved around love and inspiration. May you live as long as you love, May you love as long as you live, was one of the signs. Another was a four foot stop sign with the word SMILE. This is to remind people to stop and smile. A smile is the light of love cracking through your physical body.
We didn't know where this project would lead to. Would the people trade? Do they just want money? How would the public respond?I thought it would be beautiful if different local restaurants came together to sponsor a positive sign for an hour or two. A restaurant would pick a positive message for a homeless individual to hold in exchange for a meal from their restaurant.
I always ask, "What message are we giving out?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mJiFQE857c
