In-person meetups: 3 stories of connection from our community!

While 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for HeartSupport’s presence at festivals across the U.S., something beautiful is also happening organically within our community of volunteers, who are finding opportunities to connect in person.

We wanted to take a moment to share three recent meetup stories with you!

Andi & Garrett - Upstate New York Connection

Andi, lead volunteer Replier, and Garrett, Supporter in the Support Calls program, first crossed paths in our Discord server, where our programs are taking place. As they got to know each other, they realized they lived just 10 minutes apart and decided to meet up on the spot!

As Andi shared:

“HeartSupport is absolutely amazing. I can’t say this with enough veracity… we’re so lucky to have a human being like Garrett in the trenches with us. A literal genius and traveler of life…. An architect of reality, if you must… This community isn’t just some online thing. We’re real humans… that can make real connections.”

Josh & Nate: Taco Time in Austin

When Josh, lead volunteer Replier, found himself traveling with his family near Nate, our Executive Director, they jumped at the chance to meet up for the first time. On March 25, they spent the afternoon together! Tacos, football, kids running around and joy were at the rendez-vous.

In Josh’s words:

“There was blood, sweat, and tears (and guacamole!) — it was EPIC.”

Rodica & Marie-Anne: Concert Buddies in Berlin

Rodica, lead volunteer Replier and volunteer Supporter, mentioned to Marie-Anne, our Program Director, that she’d be attending a Twenty One Pilots concert in Berlin this April. As fate would have it, Marie-Anne had tickets to see them in May but couldn’t resist the chance to join Rodica a little early. One last-minute ticket and a booking later, they met up, explored the city, and shared the concert experience together!

"It is so meaningful to hug for the first time someone you've known for a while, and to experience some of your favorite live music together. It felt really special."

We LOVE these moments as they are the consecration of what our volunteers do every single day through our programs. Real connections and real impact with real people — with those we serve, but also with one another!

Our team is thankful for this community where friendships flourish alongside healing, wherever we are in the world.