News

2025

Newsletter – February 2025
February 2025
Winter highlights, new partnerships, and an early look at this year’s “Together We” community initiatives.

2024

Newsletter – March 2024
March 2024
Kicking off spring events, “Together We Sing” updates, and new volunteer opportunities.

Newsletter – August 2024
August 2024
Summer recaps, “Together We Ball” preview, and ways to support youth programs.

Newsletter – November 2024
November 2024
Fall events wrap-up, holiday giving drives, and a look at upcoming initiatives.

2023

Newsletter – March 2023
March 2023
Updates on spring programs, “Together We Dine” highlights, and community engagement efforts.

Newsletter – May 2023
May 2023
Recap of spring events, summer preview, and volunteer impact stories.

Newsletter – July 2023
July 2023
Mid-year review, upcoming speaker series, and partnership spotlights.

Newsletter – September 2023
September 2023
Early fall happenings, “Together We Ball” recap, and new sponsor announcements.

Newsletter – December 2023
December 2023
Year-end wrap-up, holiday giving opportunities, and a glimpse at 2024 events.

2022

Newsletter – October 2022
October 25, 2022
2021 Annual Report, Together We Ball Thank You, North Texas Giving Day Recap and more.

Newsletter – August 2022
August 1, 2022
Together We Ball Schedule, Together We Learn Recap, Together We Dine, and more.

Newsletter – June 2022
June 22, 2022
Juneteenth, Listen & Learn Speaker Series, Together We Sing Sponsors and Award Winners and more.

Newsletter – April 2022
April 1, 2022
Message from Richie, Together We Sing Save the Date, Together We Ball is back and more.

Newsletter – February 2022
February 10, 2022
Black History Month, Together We Can, In Their Shoes, Wristbands and more.

2021

Newsletter – December 2021
December 10, 2021
Message from Richie, Together We Learn Recap, Together We Vaccinate and more.

Newsletter – October 2021
October 10, 2021
North Texas Giving Day Recap, A Walk in His Shoes, Faith & Blue National Event Weekend and more.

Newsletter – August 2021
September 7, 2021
A Covid Story, Together We Vaccinate Schedule, Speaker Series: Fall and more.

Newsletter – June 2021
June 1, 2021
Together We Vaccinate Schedule, Covid Info, Vaccine Volunteers and more.

Newsletter – April 2021
April 1, 2021
Together We Dine Registration, Together We Vaccinate Schedule, DHHRM Special Exhibition and more.

Newsletter – February 2021
February 1, 2021
Together We Dine Registration, Facilitator Training Information, Together We Can and more.

Newsletter – October 2020
October 1, 2021
Careers with Project Unity, Together We Test, Together We Can, Together We Dine and more.

2024

MSN
December 2024
Project Unity hosted an event focused on building trust through open dialogue.

Dallas Morning News
December 6, 2024
Coverage previewed Project Unity’s trust-building community event.

BVM Sports
August 20, 2024
Together We Ball returned to Moody Coliseum, uniting community through basketball.

North Dallas Gazette
July 10, 2024
Project Unity and DSO delivered an electrifying tribute to Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock.

My Sweet Charity
May 2024
Project Unity participated in the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Awards Luncheon.

2023

CBS News Texas
January 2023
Project Unity joined North Texas police leaders for a community town hall on policing.

SMU Mustangs
September 1, 2023
SMU partnered with Project Unity to host the Together We Ball basketball event.

My Sweet Charity
September 2023
Project Unity collaborated with DSO and Turtle Creek Chorale for a powerful musical performance.

Dallas Morning News
October 6, 2023
Project Unity supported discussions around diversity and inclusion in higher education.

BVM Sports
August 21, 2023
The 7th Annual Together We Ball celebrated unity and community through basketball.

Dine

Three Ways Nonprofits Can Build Resilience
December 9, 2022
“At Together We Dine, we’re not judging each other,” said Project Unity Founder and Pastor Richie L. Butler. “We’re engaging each other. I don’t want to call you out. I want to draw you in.”

Catalyst Health Group
November 18, 2022
Catalyst Health Network has partnered with Project Unity’s Together We Can and Together We Dine to have safe, healthy and structured conversations about different cultural upbringings, racism and future race relations of America.

Coming Together to Promote Racial Equity in North Texas
October 25, 2022
On Oct. 6, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Project Unity, brought together hundreds of North Texans with the goal of promoting racial equity in our community.

The History Of Race In Dallas: Highland Park’s Past, Present And Future
September 22, 2022
To make the high school a more inclusive environment, Gilbert wants to partner with student clubs to create inclusion initiatives and is participating in Project Unity’s Together We Dine. He points to the Student Council’s annual Race to End Racism event as another way the school carries out that goal.

Together We Dine: Participants Reflect on Experience
August 16, 2022
On August 4, members of First UMC Dallas and St. Paul UMC gathered for a Together We Dine event, engaging in facilitated dialogue around race relations and learning from one another.

‘Together We Dine’ event promotes racial understanding
April 26, 2022
Together We Dine is one of the many projects of pastor Richie Butler of St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas.

Together We Dine Community Dine 2022
April 13, 2022
Started in 2017, Together We Dine (TWD) provides an opportunity for people to have safe conversations over dinner about race

Together We Dine, Jesuit
April 13, 2022
We partnered with Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas to bring our Together We Dine program to their senior classmen.

Learn

Together We Learn – IL Texas (Garland High School)
April 13, 2022
We partnered with the International Leadership of Texas to bring our Together We Learn program to a few of their high school campuses.

Together We Learn – IL Texas (Arlington-Grand Prairie High School)
April 13, 2022
We partnered with the International Leadership of Texas to bring our Together We Learn program to a few of their high school campuses.

Project Unity works to build relationships with Dallas officers and teens in mock traffic stops
December 24, 2021
Safety is a concern not just for officers but citizens when they are pulled over. To bridge the divide of trust and have a better understanding of each other, Project Unity launched “Together We Learn.”

Online Forum Aims to Educate Young People on Interaction With Police
July 25, 2020
Dozens participated in a virtual forum aimed at educating young people on traffic and pedestrian stops.

The event was co-hosted by Dallas-based Project Unity and the Dallas chapter of the National Black Police Association

Project Unity to Co-Host Interactive “Together We Learn™” Event on Saturday to Instruct
July 25, 2020
High School Teens of Color How to Prevent Undesired Encounters with Law Enforcement during Traffic Stops

VIDEO: Dallas Police Officers Host ‘Together We Learn’ Workshop
September 30, 2017
Officers with the Dallas Police Department hosted a special workshop on Saturday aimed at teaching young people how to react during a traffic stop.

Students, police officers meet for interactive workshop
February 6, 2017
In December, about 30 Lincoln and Madison high school students participated in classroom instruction and interactions with Dallas Police officers to help bridge the gap between police and the community.

Ball

6th annual ‘Together We Ball’ event brings together Dallas police and youth pastors
August 25, 2022
Pastor Richie Butler talks with Chris Arnold about the 6th annual Together We Ball event, featuring Dallas police and Dallas youth pastors along with other civic leaders playing basketball for a community cause.

Here & Now: Together We Ball
August 18, 2022
A big event is planned at Paul Quinn College in Dallas to bring people and police together in a way that allows them to see each other differently and maybe to begin to break down some of the walls between them.

How Dallas could be a model for the NFL to stop fighting about kneeling
August 24, 2018
In the wake of police involved shootings and deaths of unarmed black men, we launched a basketball event called Together We Ball: Police, Pastors and Community.

Sing

Unity Choir to join TCC in upcoming Dallas concert
June 27, 2022
The Turtle Creek Chorale announced Thursday that it will now be joined by the Unity Choir, a program of Project Unity, at the two performances of Let Us March On! this Saturday and Sunday at the Meyerson.

WFAA’s Demond Fernandez performs at ‘Together We Sing’ unity event with Dallas Symphony Orchestra
June 22, 2022
Our very own Demond Fernandez sang alongside the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

‘Together We’ Awards Recognize 3 HP/PC Groups
June 21, 2022
Project Unity hosted its “Together We Sing” musical event June 15, preceded by the inaugural Together We Awards.

Together They Sang! | Project Unity’s Tribute to Richard Smallwood
June 21, 2022
St. Luke United Methodist Church Pastor, Richie Butler, created a cadre of religious leaders, city officials, and community members of all races to focus on what unites us as a people instead of what divides us.

Fresh off ‘America’s Got Talent’ performance, NFL Players Choir to sing in Dallas
June 15, 2022
The choir will perform in the Project Unity’s ‘Together We Sing’ musical extravaganza at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas.

NFL Players Choir performing in Dallas Wednesday night after America’s Got Talent audition airing
June 15, 2022
When you think of a group of NFL players playing together you picture them on the gridiron facing off against another team in full pads and thousands of fans in the stands.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Project Unity present Together We Sing
June 14, 2022
Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Project Unity will present Together We Sing, a musical fundraising event that blends gospel and classical music.

Fund Finance Association Names Robin Ladd ‘Emerging Leader in DEI’
January 21, 2022
Project Unity is a collaborative effort of programming and events with faith, business, civic, philanthropic, grassroots and government entities in Dallas. Haynes Boone hosts a Together We Dine event in partnership with Project Unity.

How the Dallas Symphony Orchestra finds strength through collaboration
January 20, 2022
Through partnerships with community organizations, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra continues its decades-old tradition of bringing the joy and inspiration of classical music to audiences in North Texas and beyond.

North Texas Giving Day Booster: Project Unity
September 6, 2022
According to Project Unity Director of Programs and Events Charlene Edwards, “Project Unity is a collaborative community building movement among Dallas-area business, civic, philanthropic, religious, grassroots and local government organizations.”

The Award Will Be A 2.5M Award To Organizations That Will Support Racial Equity In Dallas
September 4, 2022
More than 20 organizations are able to give more money to the organizations working toward racial equality in Dallas thanks to a grant from The Dallas Foundation.

Collin County Business Alliance’s 10 years of impact
December 10, 2021
The CCBA celebrates a decade of collaboration and bringing attention to critical county-wide issues.

Meet our 2021 Leaders in Diversity Awards honorees
January 25, 2021
The new event, which will be held virtually on Thursday, March 4, honors organizations and individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to promoting practices that advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Richie Butler Named Visionary Award Recipient for Juanita Craft Humanitarian Awards
October 3, 2019
Richie Butler’s personal mission statement: “God has called me to build people and build community”.

National Law Enforcement Memorial & Museum: Past Exhibit – Five Communities
May 3, 2019
The inaugural exhibit in the museum’s DuPont Gallery, Five Communities highlighted grassroots efforts to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

National Law Enforcement Museum: Five Communities Temporary Exhibition
July 9, 2018
We are honored to be one of the five communities featured for Dallas in the National Law Enforcement Temporary Exhibition for strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and the people it serves.

Year of Unity Founder & Pastor Richie Butler named a 2018 Minority Business Leader honoree by Dallas Business Journal
February 21, 2018
Richie Butler, founder of Year of Unity; senior pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church; and senior managing director of the Prescott Group, has been named one of the Dallas Business Journal’s (DBJ) Minority Business Leader honorees for 2018.

Year of Unity Founder & Pastor Richie Butler named a 2018 Minority Business Leader honoree by Dallas Business Journal
February 21, 2018
We partnered with the International Leadership of Texas to bring our Together We Learn program to a few of their high school campuses.

Communities Foundation of Texas gives $150,000 to support racial equality in Dallas
January 18, 2018
The Communities Foundation of Texas is distributing $150,000 among 35 nonprofits that promote racial equality via storytelling in Dallas.

VIDEO: Dallas Police Officers Host ‘Together We Learn’ Workshop
September 30, 2017
Officers with the Dallas Police Department hosted a special workshop on Saturday aimed at teaching young people how to react during a traffic stop.

Since I can’t sing Kumbaya, I’ll sing praises for a Dallas pastor’s plan for a Year of Unity
February 6, 2017
“We’re not here to sing Kumbaya,” the Rev. Richie Butler, senior pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church, told those gathered Tuesday morning at the Belo Mansion to talk about Butler’s pet project — the Year of Unity.

Students, police officers meet for interactive workshop
February 6, 2017
In December, about 30 Lincoln and Madison high school students participated in classroom instruction and interactions with Dallas Police officers to help bridge the gap between police and the community.

A Year Of Unity To Be Announced By Dallas Leaders
January 24, 2017
The July 2016 ambush of Dallas police officers put the spotlight on the growing distrust and division between institutions and political systems with the minority community.

Communities Foundation of Texas president David Scullin to retire in March
November 30, 2022
The foundation’s chair-elect Richie Butler will guide a national search for Scullin’s successor.

Dallas’ historic St. Luke church returns home after months of sharing space at Highland Park campus
March 7, 2022
Pastor Richie Butler finally gets to preach inside their newly updated sanctuary to a congregation rejoicing that ‘the storms and pandemic didn’t defeat us.’

Promoting Religious Freedom Should Be a National Priority
January 18, 2022
Faith Forward and Project Unity, for example, are led in Dallas by clergy like the Rev. Richie Butler, pastor of St. Luke’s Community United Methodist Church.

Collin County Business Alliance’s 10 years of impact
December 14, 2021
The CCBA celebrates a decade of collaboration and bringing attention to critical county-wide issues.

Meet our 2021 Leaders in Diversity Awards honorees
January 25, 2021
This event honors organizations and individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to promoting practices that advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

We white people keep asking our Black friends what we can do. Here are 7 steps we can take
August 4, 2020
When the anger and pain had reached its peak in the weeks following the George Floyd tragedy, I decided that I, a white man, should turn to my friend Richie Butler, a Black man, and ask him one question: “What can I do?”

Richie Butler Named Visionary Award Recipient for Juanita Craft Humanitarian Awards
October 3, 2019
Richie Butler’s personal mission statement: “God has called me to build people and build community”. He lives out his mission daily and wants to inspire others to do the same.

Dallas recognized for efforts to heal police and community relations after July 7, 2016 ambush
October 5, 2018
VIDEO: Dallas recognized for efforts to heal police and community relations after July 7, 2016 ambush

Dallas effort to get community, police talking about race relations will get place in law enforcement museum
July 28, 2018
Project Unity, which fosters dialogue among people of all races and religions, will be in the spotlight at the National Law Enforcement Museum when it opens this fall in Washington, D.C.

Year of Unity Founder & Pastor Richie Butler named a 2018 Minority Business Leader honoree by Dallas Business Journal
February 21, 2018
Richie Butler, founder of Year of Unity; senior pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church; and senior managing director of the Prescott Group, has been named one of the Dallas Business Journal’s (DBJ) Minority Business Leader honorees for 2018.

The Confederate monuments issue provides an opportunity to unite
September 7, 2017
Will they become just another flashpoint for fear, misunderstanding and racism to rear its ugly head in our city?

Since I can’t sing Kumbaya, I’ll sing praises for a Dallas pastor’s plan for a Year of Unity
September 7, 2017
We partnered with the International Leadership of Texas to bring our Together We Learn program to a few of their high school campuses.

Richie Butler’s Year of Unity Even Has an Ex‑President on Board
February 18, 2017
Ever since the killing of five police officers in an ambush July 7, 2016, the city of Dallas has been on a journey of racial healing.

Another One Bites the Dust
October 31, 2022
In 2020 and 2021, Byrd partnered with nonprofits Unite Greater Dallas, Services of Hope and Project Unity, offering up Mockingbird Community facilities to serve as a hub for food distribution to local food banks and other service groups meeting needs during the pandemic.

Meet the Dallas 500: Dr. Chris Crow
January 19, 2022
The pandemic brought on a renewed sense of mission, as Dr. Chris Crow worked with nonprofit Project Unity to bring testing and vaccinations to underserved areas.

Dallas Church Hosts Event to Vaccinate, Feed Hundreds
October 30, 2021
Pastor Richie Butler said the church hoped to vaccinate more people before cold weather pushes big groups indoors.

State lawmakers to host Balch Springs vaccination event Saturday with music and a raffle
October 22, 2021
Residents can get first shots and boosters, meet Reps. Toni Rose and Rhetta Bowers and enter raffle giveaways for BBQ grill or bicycle.

Vaccination Clinic at Williams Chicken
October 22, 2021
VIDEO on GoodDay – Terrance Friday

Pastor puts entrepreneurial skills to work this time to get people vaccinated
October 11, 2021
Catalyst Health Network, Project Unity, and other partners are vaccinating “not quite door to door, but pretty close to it.”

Project Unity hosts COVID-19 vaccine in South Dallas – WFAA
August 24, 2021
This event is one of the first community-based sites in a critical ZIP code to host a vaccine distribution event.

Catalyst Community Foundation: Reaching our most underserved communities
August 23, 2021
VIDEO on how Catalyst Community Foundation partnered with Project Unity to help vaccinate.

Dan Patrick’s claim that Black people are biggest unvaccinated group isn’t true for Texas
August 20, 2021
Pastor Richie Butler, who works with Project Unity, said he was disappointed in those comments, after spending the entire pandemic using his church, community centers, and schools as pop up vaccination and COVID testing sites.

Project Unity hosts COVID-19 vaccine clinics as students prepare to go back to school
August 11, 2021
Dozens of families line up at an apartment complex in Pleasant Grove to receive either the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Many Faith Leaders in North Texas Embracing Their Role in Vaccine Push
August 3, 2021
Houses of worship have hosted vaccine drives and urged members to get the shot, though a recent survey shows evangelicals remain the most vaccine hesitant.