Remember “Peptoc”? It was a hotline created by two teachers at West Side Elementary in rural Healdsburg nearly three years ago. Anyone who was feeling down could call the hotline at 707-873-7862 to listen to recorded messages of cheer from local elementary-school kids.
And it’s still going strong: The hotline consistently gets around 10,000 calls per day, according to project leaders Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss, and is approaching 20 million total calls since its launch. Jessica and Asherah even released a Peptoc book last year, called “You Are Amazing like a Rocket.” (I’ve been spotting it in the window of Levin & Company on the plaza recently!) And the photos featured here are from the first-ever, super-interactive Peptoc Fest, which the project leaders hosted at Little Saint back in November as a fundraiser to keep the hotline up and running.
“WOW!” they wrote afterward on Instagram. “We are still glowing from the incredible presence of so many who came out to our event on Sunday. It means so much to us, and truly keeps us going.” Looking forward, they still need ongoing support, mainly to pay the hotline fees. You can donate here. The Peptoc website says: “Any additional funds will help us expand Peptoc so that we can collaborate with even more young people and their communities and continue to offer our projects for free. Current projects in the works include a cross-country billboard project featuring work by local students, Peptoc hotline phone booths, community parades, publications, murals and installations, workshops, and more!”
