For almost 155 years, the Joppa-Joppee Community has stood as a testament to resilience, strength, family, and community. Yet, for far too long, this historic Dallas community has faced limited access to the resources, opportunities, and spaces that help communities thrive.
Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. is changing that story.
Our mission is to preserve the legacy of Joppa-Joppee while creating pathways for a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous future. Through community programs, education, workforce development, youth engagement, neighborhood revitalization, and historic preservation, we are investing directly in the people who call Joppa-Joppee home.
Our Progress Is Real
We are not simply dreaming about what Joppa-Joppee could become, we are building toward it.
Our greatest vision is The Place at Honey Springs, a planned state-of-the-art, 20,000+ square-foot multipurpose community center designed to become a hub for opportunity, connection, and celebration.
The Place at Honey Springs will provide space for youth programs, educational and workforce initiatives, community events, trainings, workshops, studios, a shared kitchen, event rentals, and a stadium-grade basketball gym. Most importantly, it will give generations of Joppa-Joppee residents a place to learn, gather, grow, and build.
We have already made significant progress toward making this vision a reality, including advancing pre-development efforts, building community partnerships, expanding programming, engaging corporate and civic partners, and securing a $5 million contingency commitment toward construction of the center.
But there is still work to do.
North Texas Giving Day gives our community and everyone who believes in the power of historically underserved communities, the opportunity to help us take the next step.
Why Your Gift Matters
Your contribution helps provide the resources needed to move The Place at Honey Springs from vision to reality while continuing the programs that are making an impact today.
Every gift helps us:
Create opportunities for Joppa-Joppee youth and families
Support educational and literacy initiatives
Expand workforce development and career-readiness opportunities
Preserve the history and legacy of Joppa-Joppee
Strengthen neighborhood revitalization efforts
Develop safe, positive spaces for recreation and community connection
Advance the planning, design, and development of The Place at Honey Springs
This is more than a building. It is an investment in people.
This North Texas Giving Day, we invite you to join Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. as we honor where Joppa-Joppee has been, celebrate where we are today, and build toward where we are going.
Help us build The Place at Honey Springs. Help us invest in the next generation. Help us preserve a legacy that deserves to be remembered, and a future that deserves to be built.
Give. Share. Invest in Joppa-Joppee.
Together, we are building a place where history meets opportunity.
The mission of the Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. is to cultivate a connected and empowered community while honoring our rich history through education, the arts, and recreation in the historic Joppa-Joppee community.
For the $100,000 North Texas Giving Day goal, to make make it very clear that this is not simply a fundraising goal for general expenses. It is an operational bridge that allows Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. to continue serving the community while advancing The Place at Honey Springs toward construction.
Our Immediate Needs & Why We Are Raising $100,000
As Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. continues building toward The Place at Honey Springs, we have an important need that cannot be overlooked: we must continue serving the community while we build.
Our $100,000 North Texas Giving Day goal will provide critical operational support that allows us to maintain our programs, respond to immediate community needs, and continue the work necessary to move our long-term vision forward.
Our Immediate Needs
Our organization is currently balancing two important priorities: meeting the needs of residents today while building the infrastructure needed to serve them tomorrow.
Our immediate operational needs include:
Community programming – Supporting youth, family, educational, literacy, workforce, and community engagement activities.
Youth and education initiatives – Providing resources, activities, and opportunities that help young people succeed academically and prepare for their futures.
Workforce development – Expanding career-readiness, training, apprenticeship, and employment pathways for residents.
Community outreach and engagement – Keeping residents informed, connected, and actively involved in the future of Joppa-Joppee.
Staffing and administrative capacity– Supporting the personnel and essential operations required to coordinate programs, manage partnerships, pursue funding, and serve the community effectively.
Program supplies and resources – Covering the materials, equipment, technology, transportation, and other resources necessary to deliver quality programs.
Pre-development and planning support – Continuing the professional, administrative, design, permitting, and organizational work necessary to advance The Place at Honey Springs.
Community revitalization and preservation – Continuing efforts that honor Joppa-Joppee's history while creating a stronger future for residents.
Why $100,000?
The $100,000 goal represents an operational bridge for Melissa Pierce Project, Inc.
We are building something significant, but we cannot pause the work of serving our community while construction is being planned and developed. The funding will give us the capacity to keep our programs moving, respond to community needs, maintain essential operations, and continue advancing The Place at Honey Springs.
The building is the long-term vision, but the people are the mission.
Our goal is to ensure that the community does not have to wait for a new facility to experience meaningful investment and opportunity.
Every dollar raised helps us maintain the momentum we have created and positions Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. to be ready when the next phase of development begins.
We Are Building While Serving
The Place at Honey Springs represents a transformational investment in Joppa-Joppee, but transformation takes time. During this important period of development, our organization must have the operational capacity to continue showing up for residents, creating programs, building partnerships, pursuing additional funding, and preparing for the future.
A $100,000 investment in Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. is an investment in both the work happening today and the vision we are building for tomorrow.
North Texas Giving Day is an opportunity to help us bridge that gap.
Help us keep serving. Help us keep building. Help us build a future worthy of Joppa-Joppee's legacy.
Our Commitment to Equity
At Melissa Pierce Project, Inc., we believe equity means ensuring that every person has access to the resources, opportunities, safe spaces, and support needed to thrive, regardless of their ZIP code or the history of disinvestment in their community.
Joppa-Joppee is a historic community with almost more than 155 years of resilience, culture, and community leadership. Yet, generations of residents have experienced inequities in access to quality educational opportunities, recreational facilities, workforce development, community resources, and neighborhood investment.
We are committed to changing that.
Our work centers the voices and experiences of Joppa-Joppee residents. We partner with community members, businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and civic organizations to create opportunities that respond to identified needs rather than imposing solutions from outside the community.
The Place at Honey Springs is a major part of that commitment. The planned multipurpose center will create a welcoming space where children can learn and play, families can gather, residents can access workforce and educational opportunities, and the broader community can connect with resources and partnerships.
Equity also means investing in people before a building is completed. That is why Melissa Pierce Project, Inc. continues to provide programming, community engagement, youth initiatives, literacy opportunities, workforce development, and neighborhood revitalization efforts while we work toward construction.
We are not seeking to change the identity of Joppa-Joppee, we are working to strengthen the community while preserving its history, honoring its residents, and creating greater access to opportunity.
Our vision is a Joppa-Joppee where children have the resources to succeed, families have access to opportunity, residents can build meaningful careers, and community members have a voice in the future of the place they call home.
Equity is not simply part of our mission. It is the foundation of our work.
Organization name
Melissa Pierce Project Inc
Tax id (EIN)
86-3672467
Causes
Community Improvement
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Address
7822 Hull Ave.