The Peptoc Project

It all started in 2022, when we went to West Side Elementary School (where I went!) and asked each student, k-6th, "What could you do or say for someone who is having a hard day?"  They made posters in response to this guiding question, as well as recording their pep talks, which Jessica then turned into a hotline.  We photo copied the posters on bright paper and hung them all over Healdsburg, instigating anonymous interactions with the positive messages.  The hotline, meanwhile, went viral online, and started receiving 60,000 calls an hour! Two years later it has received over 17 million calls! 

 

>> Haven't called it yet? 707-8PEPTOC << 

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Following immense amounts of press from all the major stations, NYT, The Trevor Noah Show and NPR, we were no longer part of a one-day project: we had created a movement.

 

One of the more exciting opportunities that emerged from all the press we received, was a book proposal to take our poster project to the next level, and get young people involved on a larger scale.  After so many people asked how they could be a part of it, this was an easy way to share the project while spreading our message: making a difference can be easy, and simple creative acts can have a big impact.

 

We put out a call to young people around the world to make their own Peptoc posters, hang them up where they live, and share a photo with us.  What came out of it is You Are Amazing Like a Rocket: Pep Talks for Everyone, From Young People Around the World.

 

Young people aged 6-21, from 25 countries as well as the US are represented, with a wide range of languages.

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​You can find it wherever books are sold.