We’re setting out again across the USA, film crew in tow, to facilitate human connections that promote healing and compassion.
Hearts of Strangers is a growing movement.
Our PURPOSE is to cultivate and foster meaningful human connections globally that are deeply rooted in acknowledging, honoring and celebrating our journeys as human beings, while reducing stigma, fear, and shame by sharing our stories through a variety of engaging platforms that showcase our human experiences as strengths, opportunities for healing and growth, and the threads that connect us as human beings to one another.
Our MISSION is to reconnect humanity with one another in meaningful and compassionate ways through storytelling, community outreach and partnerships, workshops, forums, school programing, community events, documentary films, and a movement of authenticity and courage on social media platforms, in effort to help prevent the disconnection, isolation, shame, guilt, and fears that feed depression, anxiety, addiction, violence, and lead to suicide.
Our VALUES are compassion, love, faith, courage, empathy, vulnerability, authenticity, and connection. We believe that even the deepest trauma, pain, and grief can be healed when met with these and many other values that we possess and employ. We believe that every human being is worthy of love, belonging, and respect regardless of where they are on their journey.
To often stigma, fear, and shame feed the silence, isolation, and depression that breeds disconnection and leads to hopelessness, anger, and even violence. When people are not seen, heard, or valued they act out or they check out, which is WHY we feel it is vital to create opportunities where everyone feels equally seen, heard, valued, and beautiful, as they are, despite the constant barrage of messages each day that we are not good enough.
We believe that honoring every human being and their experiences is not only our greatest tool to empower every individual we engage, but HOW, together, we will unite as one race, of human beings, and begin to celebrate all that makes us vulnerable, beautiful, and resilient. We believe that showing up in the arena of vulnerability without weapons or armor is the only way to disarm the fear that divides us from one another. Only when we are truly exposed, both our weaknesses and our strengths, can we begin to help one another live authentically, with courage, and with compassion.
Since Hearts of Strangers had it’s humble birth in December of 2014 as Tumblr blog combining heart centered interviews with photojournalistic portraits, it has evolved and continues to expand into a movement of human to human connections, support, and healing.
Here’s what Hearts of Strangers entails just eighteen months later:
Continued National Outreach/ Inspiring Books/ Socially Engaging Tee-Shirts/ Multiple Social Media Platforms/ Quality YouTube Content/ Community Connection Events/ Online Support Forums/ Development of HoS’s Website/ Mental Health and Recovery Advocacy/ Presentations and Talks For All Ages/ Donation Drives and Meal Service For Victims of Homelessness/ Partnerships With Other Organizations and Agencies
While Hearts of Strangers works hard during the remaining months of 2016 to move towards sustainability in 2017, we are utilizing Kickstarter to help achieve a few goals to help us move closer to our vision for the movement.
A significant portion of funding from this campaign will help us cover the expenses associated with our upcoming community outreach tours this fall, including car rental, airfare, and lodging. Another part of the funding will cover the costs associated with publishing the next volume ofEvery Heart Has A Story To Tell, a compilation of inspiring transcriptions of interviews and portraits collected. The rest of the funding will help to compensate HoS‘s talented Digital Media Director, Sam Bibbins, who has so generously donated his time and talents to this movement since our last campaign.
Because this is a movement for the people, by the people, we can’t do this alone. We need your help to reach these next goals in sustaining our momentum.
I’m grateful to have a committed and passionate team of experts in their various fields that help move HoS in the right direction so that crowdfunding campaigns like these eventually become unnecessary for us to accomplish our goals. We’ve learned from our last successful Kickstarter campaign that we are more resourceful, creative, and have many more supporters, who have come to our aid to keep wind under our wings, than we initially thought. We are dedicated to our vision and will utilize every available resource to continue to move towards our vision for Hearts of Strangers.