Spokane man creates billboards to spread love across the country

November 14, 2018 1:37 AM

Taylor Graham,

Posted: November 14, 2018 1:37 AM

Updated: May 20, 2021 8:26 AM

by Taylor Graham

Spokane man creates billboards to spread love across the country

SPOKANE, Wash. — November 13 is World Kindness Day, a day that encourages acts of kindness, no matter how big or small. But long before this holiday, one Spokane man has been celebrating in style with big gesture that carries a simple message: love.

You may have seen them from Marietta Avenue to Market Street as you drive through Spokane. Big red billboards with “LOVE” written in plain white lettering. No ads, no sponsorships, no hashtags — just love.

The billboards’ creator, local life coach John Pogachar, wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I guess, I never get tired of looking at it,” said Pogachar as he stood below the newest billboard on Monroe Street. “You know, I don’t think you can monetize love. I think you just give that out.”

Pogachar told KXLY he was on a retreat this year when he asked himself the question that set it all in motion.

“It just kept tugging at me to – how could we put more love out into the world?,” Pogachar said. “It’s like, ‘I could put it on a billboard and see what happens with that.'”

What started as one billboard turned into four across his city. With the help of his friends and their donations to Love on Every Billboard, his billboards spread to other cities in need of a little extra love.

“The incident happened in Pittsburgh and we just said, ‘okay,’ I said, ‘I have money in my PayPal account I’ll just make that happen,” Pogachar said.

So he did. One of his billboards stands in Pittsburgh, near the Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 people were killed in a mass shooting last month.

“We don’t need hate. We just need love,” Pogachar said. “It’s like, cracked something open in people and they want to talk about that. We need more of that in our country. We need more of that in our planet.”

He doesn’t plan to stop there. This month, two more billboards will go up in Marshalltown, Iowa, where a tornado hit in July.

“You direct it a little bit, but you just let it go,” Pogachar said. “And we’ll just see what happens with it.”

Love on Every Billboard is accepting donations.

Get your weather forecast from people that actually live in your community. We update with short, easy-to-use video forecasts you can watch on your phone every day. Download the iOS or Android app here.