DACC unveils 'little red mailbox' for community to share worries, hopes

Apr. 5—DANVILLE — A "little red mailbox" is the latest addition to the Danville Area Community Center. The mailbox, located in the facility's lobby, provides community members a place to share their thoughts, dreams, feelings and secrets.

The DACC's little red mailbox is placed by a small seating area where Danville area residents can take a break from the chaos of their everyday lives to share their thoughts, according to a press release.

The mailbox was inspired by Josette Zielinski and is dedicated to her son, Joe, a U.S. Army war veteran who passed in 2008, the community center said.

Zielinski said she got the idea for the mailbox while traveling to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands in North Carolina in remembrance of her son on the anniversary of his death.

"I read an article in the VA Pilot that introduced me to the Little Red Mailbox. It was placed at a beautiful beach access at Kill Devil Hills. A woman got the idea that it would be a nice way to honor her mother while giving everyone who stopped by there an opportunity to pass on a note of thanks, or hope, or even despair ... a way of communicating from the heart to that little section of the world," Zielinski said. "I loved the idea, and when I brought it to the folks here at the DACC, they liked the idea too."

Zielinski encouraged members of the community to stop by and leave a message of their own.

"Leave your messages of hope, love, joy, despair, sadness, etc. here," she said. "Leave a joke, a quote, or a picture, spend some time to share our little corner of the world with each other and know you're never alone!"