This summer, we're growing zinnias — and asking our community to grow with us.

Flower Power! is Pierce Street Gateway's inaugural peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Growers across Lynchburg register, plant zinnia seeds, and spend five weeks asking their friends and family to sponsor their growing effort. Every dollar raised goes toward restoring the Old Calloway Store at 1301 Pierce Street and bringing our museum and visitor center to life.

The Old Calloway Store dates to 1877 and is believed to be one of the first Black-owned businesses in Lynchburg. It sits at the heart of the Pierce Street Renaissance Historic District — one of the most significant streets in Virginia. The neighborhood is home to the family of Chauncey Spencer, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen; Anne Spencer, the first Virginian published in the Norton Anthology of Poetry; Dr. R. Walter Johnson, who mentored both Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson; and others whose stories deserve to be told.

Pierce Street Gateway was founded in 2018 to preserve this history and make it accessible to the public. We run guided tours of the historic district, operate the Pierce Street Community Garden — established in 2021 to address food insecurity in the neighborhood — and are working to restore the Calloway Store as a visitor center and community hub.

Flower Power! is how we're getting there — one zinnia at a time.

Pierce Street Gateway is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Flower Power! 2026

Pierce Street Gateway's zinnia growing fundraiser. Every dollar raised supports the Pierce Street Museum and the programs that keep this neighborhood alive.

Growers