Looking for a way to DO SOMETHING that feels meaningful, engaging, and (dare I say it?) FUN while boosting awareness, bolstering solidarity, and building community? 

 

Disrupt2Uplift is a creative consultation service for collapse-aware individuals, community-focused groups, regenerative brands, and non-profit boards. 

 

The goal: to stir up simple, surprising, and stealthy acts of resistance that are legal, safe, and comically subversive.

 

Because we recognize the power of creativity and humor to uplift and inspire us when things feel heavy and dark.

 

Our metrics: delight, connection, and contagion.

 

Me in the studio apartment in Buenos Aires where I spent the pandemic.

I discovered the thrill of activism while organizing events for my whole elementary school on the very first Earth Day in 1970.

I was 9. And I was hooked.

Since then, I've served as executive director and national outreach director for environmental and social justice non-profits, and launched a range of my own old-idea-disrupting projects, including:

🔶 a 10-20 Saturday Market for young people to sell their products and services to disrupt "bored & broke summer" syndrome

🔶 a playful, eyes-wide-open mindfulness course that helped thousands of people in over 100 countries get calm, clear, and creative...without meditation

🔶 my book (published by Crown/Random House) on skipping the AP/IB/SAT/ACT track from high school to college and getting a truly international education by 20 with a U.S./Canadian diploma...and no debt

🔶 doing pro bono work helping grieving women in 18 countries find ways to build community while supporting their families during COVID

 

Thanks to that last one, I had the honor of inspiring and co-creating strategy for a wide range of projects around the world:

🔶Friendship games, courses, and mentorship in Japan.

🔶Free vocal music classes for at-risk children in Italy.

🔶Muralist training in immigrant neighborhoods in France.

🔶Citizen scientist training network in Romania.

🔶Third-generation family business re-imagining in South Korea.

🔶Safety training and support for citizen reporters in Lebanon.

🔶Recruitment and relocation for teachers fleeing from Venezuela.

🔶Free mental health clinics for Ukrainian women who fled to Poland.

And over 100 more in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere.

 

Our creativity EXPANDS when we are faced with limits.

Remember all the creative things people tried during COVID?

Whether you were part of the sourdough-baking brigade or dug out your lawn to plant vegetables, you probably found ways to flex your imagination and develop new skills because you had limits on what you could do.

Example: If I gave you a piece of paper and a pencil and told you to Draw something, you would struggle to decide what to create.

But I if said, Draw a picture of a frowning cat wearing a top hat, you'd get right to it.

And this whole sparking-creativity-within-limits thing can get us through the hard times now and later - no matter what restrictions are imposed upon us.

Using our creativity to help us express our emotions and come up with innovative ways forward is  exactly what we need during this critical and uncertain time.

 

The challenge: 

creativity is dampened by despair.

 

So, we must find ways to cut through the despair and uplift and inspire each other. This is how we can stay connected to our ability to leverage our creative energy.  

 

And the more fun and subversive our actions, the more idea-sparking and cohesion-creating our efforts will be.

 

 

🔶Let humor (not hate) do the heavy lifting.

🔶Celebrate commonality instead of amplifying differences.

🔶Think hyper-local (street, neighborhood) but contagious.

🔶Make it creative, but not (too) crude.

🔶Poke fun at those who cause intentional harm, but stay safe.

🔶Keep it legal, with no trespassing or destruction of property.

🔶Strive for zero waste by using recycled, surplus, or biodegradable materials when needed.

🔶Never leave a mess. (Plan for clean-up or removal.)

That's it. 

Within these guidelines, there is SO MUCH ROOM to use your imagination and make things better.

Oh, and have a great time with others who are gleefully engaged, too. 

 

MORE GOOD NEWS:

If shouting at crowded protests or calling your representatives is definitely not your jam,  no worries. (Hello, introvert! 👋)

There are plenty of stealthy, fun, behind-the-scenes ways to "show up" and "be heard"...while staying within your comfort zone. 

GATHERINGS

Pop-up parades. (from Pets for Peace processions to themed bike rides)

Mock funerals. (for ideas that need to die)

Takeovers. (filling a city hall meeting with people dressed in costume, or a pop-up barefoot disco party in a park near a speech by someone spreading hate)

 

STEALTH MODE

Joybursts/Joybombs. (think visual, creative, compelling, thought-provoking - like yarnbombing, but with ideas that delight)

Surprise art. (overnight murals, plantings, sculptures, etc.)

Flash mobs. (showing up to sing, dance, juggle, yodel, knit, read poetry in unison, play the tuba, or anything else in a public space)

 

 

 

AND SOOO MUCH MORE...

 

This is just a handful of the most common ideas.

But there are countless ways to disrupt despair by tapping into creativity and joy.

 

What will YOU stir up?

Disrupt despair - and old ideas/systems - and make people smile.

It sounds so simple. And it can be.

 

But if you're ready for something truly unique that can clarify your cause and engage and expand your community, I would love to help you get into some exceptionally marvelous mischief. 

 

To start collaborating, just send me an email, a message on LinkedIn, or use the simple form below.

I can't wait to stir up some good (safe, legal, healthy, humorous) trouble with you!