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Peptoc: Kind Words From Kids
at's what some grade school students in California learned. They started an art project called Peptoc. The plan was simple at first. It began with handmade posters. Then it grew into a phone hotline that became a global hit!

Free Words of Kindness

Jessica Martin is an art teacher at West Side Elementary School. It's in Healdsburg, California. People there had faced the pandemic. Wildfires had threatened their homes, too. But Martin noticed something in early 2022. Her students were still happy and full of hope.

Martin wanted to share that positive energy with the community. She talked to students in kindergarten through grade 6. She asked what they would say to someone who was feeling down. The kids turned their answers into signs of encouragement. One said, "Everything you do is full of rainbows," and another said, "Be brave." The signs were put up around town for people to see.

Voices of Hope

Their next step spread the smiles for miles. First, students recorded messages using their own words and voices. One said, "Be grateful for yourself." Others said, "It's okay to be different" and "Don't give up." Some messages were in Spanish.

Then Martin set up a free phone hotline. It opened on February 26, 2022. People anywhere could call to hear the recorded messages.

The hotline turned out to be a good call. Martin thought it might get a hundred calls a month. But soon, thousands of calls were pouring in each day. Callers shared the number with friends. It spread far and wide.

Peptoc has now received more than 5 million calls. They come from all over the world. One caller said the hopeful words were "moving and heartwarming." The fact that they are spoken by kids makes them extra special.

You Can Do It

Want to make a difference? You don't need to start a hit hotline. Just share a compliment or write a kind note to someone. Anyone can spread positivity. As the kindergarteners at West Side school say, "You can do it!"

Think about and discuss these questions:

What facts would you select to show why art teacher Jessica Martin started Peptoc?

Were you surprised by how many people called Peptoc's hotline? Why or why not?