Shine City Project Report (9/21/19)

[Ken Doo]

Shine City Project

Las Vegas Community Healing Garden

September 21, 2019

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." —Martin Luther King, Jr.

On October 1, 2017, the lives of 58 individuals were taken away during a time of indescribable darkness on the Las Vegas Strip. These individuals had come from near and far to enjoy the sounds of the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival. Some had come to celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Some worked at schools and other public places. Each life was so precious. Each person was loved by friends, family, co-workers, and others who knew them. Unfortunately, they became the victims of a terrible tragedy.

Through the indescribable darkness and gloom, an abundance of light emerged, coming from every direction. Many did what they could to combat the darkness. In less than a week after the incident, the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden was established on a piece of desert land in the downtown area. The garden was built not just to honor those who lost their lives on October 1, but also to celebrate the life, goodness, love, and compassion that came shortly after the incident.

On September 21, 2019, Shine City Project joined Get Outdoors Nevada and other volunteers to help plant flowers and clean up the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden. We had nine volunteers representing Shine City Project. We planted colorful petunias and picked up litter with hearts full of love. At the end of the service project, we looked around the garden and offered our prayers and respects to all those who lost their lives during the October 1 tragedy.

As an organization, Shine City Project hopes to inspire more love, kindness, and compassion in the world. Sometimes the world can be so dark and gloomy, but we can do our best to move forward and shine our lights of true love to those around us, starting with our families, friends, and people in our communities. True joy is not something that we can experience alone; true joy is a feeling that we experience only with others and with our God. God created us to be connected to each other in love. Though we tend to focus on the things that make us different, such as our races, religions, nationalities, and beliefs, we have so many more similarities. Although we may not look alike and we may live miles apart, the one thing to remember is that we, as human beings, are still "one family under God".