Project 52 was founded by Dustin Blythe, Bill Clark and Pastor John Dawson.
On August 12th, 2006, on a three hour flight from Houston to Honduras for a mission trip, three guys who where total strangers (Blythe, Clark and Dawson) sat next to each other because their names were in alphabetical order. All three quickly forged a friendship on the flight.
Throughout the week, as they learned more about each other and served the poor of Honduras, their experience ignited them to dream about how they could help others. On August 19th, 2006 as they sat together on the flight home, Dustin, Bill and John bounced ideas off each other on how to accomplish their dream. At one point during the flight, as all three of them looked out into the dark sky and bright stars, a strange calm and a feeling of God’s presence came over them.
Unbeknownst to them, upon arrival back in Omaha one of them would receive devastating news that would change all of their lives forever.
During the flight home and hundred’s of miles away, Dustin’s son, Treye Blythe, had been murdered. Treye, who was 18 at the time, had been at a house party. Treye tried to pull a friend out of a fight and in the process was tragically stabbed to death. In the end, Treye lost his life trying to help a friend he barely knew.
Despite this devastating loss, Dustin, Bill and Pastor John continued to work on their dream of helping others. As they struggled to figure out a name for their organization, it was Bill Clark who came up with the name Project 52 one night while looking at a picture of Treye in his football jersey. We soon learned the significance of the number 52. 52 lead to doing mission work not once a year or every once in a while but every week of the year. Psalm 52:8 ties in with the Trees to Remember Program, as it speaks of flourishing when we put our trust in God’s unfailing love.
Guiding Principles
1. Let God use us to enrich the lives of others
2. Reach out with The Word of hope
3. Help people find purpose and meaning
4. 100% of the donations will be used to fund the programs you chose.
Throughout the week, as they learned more about each other and served the poor of Honduras, their experience ignited them to dream about how they could help others. On August 19th, 2006 as they sat together on the flight home, Dustin, Bill and John bounced ideas off each other on how to accomplish their dream. At one point during the flight, as all three of them looked out into the dark sky and bright stars, a strange calm and a feeling of God’s presence came over them.
