Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Leslie Lee of The Soul Box Project Is Helping To Change Our World

I believe leaders inspire — through their words and actions. Leadership also requires providing a way for people to act. I increasingly think leadership is also about staying true to your values and being clear and vocal about who you are and what you stand for. At the Soul Box Project, we have no political agenda regarding gun ownership. We don’t promote any specific policy or solution. Our intent is to engage people and reach their hearts and minds to promote healing, drive change and create safer, healthier communities.

As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Lee.

Leslie Lee is a purpose driven, passionate artist and the founder of The Soul Box Project, a national community art project that collects and exhibits thousands of hand-folded origami boxes to raise awareness of the U.S. gunfire epidemic. Each Soul Box holds space for one life lost or injured by gun violence, defense, accident or suicide. In only a few short years, The Soul Box Project has inspired a national movement focused on people — not politics. More than 146,000 Soul Boxes have been made so far, with more being folded everyday. Soul Box Project installations have been displayed around the country and in an Online Exhibit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest event to date — an exhibit of 200,000 Soul Boxes and procession involving hundreds of volunteers — is planned for The National Mall in Washington DC in October 2021.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I have been an artist my whole life — a designer, illustrator, sculptor and painter — in that order. My husband is also an artist and we share adjoining studios and make a living making art. My work has gone through many…