Have You Ever needed a Pep Talk?
Then Try PepToc!
The project sets up a hotline that anyone can call up. Once you’re connected, you get the options to press different numbers in order to hear the message you need most."
“If you are feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement or life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5,” says the kid at the other end of the line.
And for nearly a minute, the kids will offer both profound and whimsical advice. Each in their own voice.
Martins’ idea for the hotline is inspired by the “Callin’ Oates” hotline launched a decade ago in which callers could press either 1 or 2 to listen to different songs. She believes that with the dire state of the world nowadays - wildfires, pandemic, wars - people could use a little pick-me-up."
The line, which is a simple phone tree, includes the following options:
- Press 1: “If you’re feeling mad, frustrated or nervous”
- Press 2: “If you need words of encouragement and life advice”
- Press 3: “If you need a pep talk from kindergarteners”
- Press 4: “If you need to hear kids laughing with delight”
- Press 5: “For encouragement in Spanish”
- Press 6: “If you would like to make a donation to support this project”
Here are some of the kids' responses:
Feeling mad? PEPTOC KID RESPONSE: You can always go to your bedroom, punch your pillow or cry on it and just go scream outside.
Feeling ticked off? PEPTOC KID RESPONSE: If you are mad or frustrated you can do what you want to do best or you can do flips on the trampoline.
Feeling uneasy? PEPTOC KID RESPONSE: If you are nervous, go get your wallet and spend it on ice cream and shoes. [smart kid!!]
I tried the phone line (707) 998-8410 this am – but it seemed to be not working. Maybe because it was an am news story -and millions tried calling? But not one to give up….i did some more digging and found their GoFund Me and this message!
Yesterday by Alina Collin, Organizer
Thank you so much for your support of the Peptoc project and the students at West Side School! Our current number is being ported to a new carrier (we got a sponsorship! Yay!!) and it is unexpectedly offline. Here's an alternate number to use/share for a Peptoc until we get it all figured out: 707-8PEPTOC, or 707-873-7862.
