Sidewalk Talk Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary with 2025 Listening Bus Tour

A Cross-Country Call to Connection and Compassion for Mental Health Awareness Month

San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - January 22, 2025) - This May, in celebration of its 10-year anniversary and Mental Health Awareness Month, Sidewalk Talk is taking its mission of connection and compassion on the road. Dubbed the 2025 Listening Bus Tour, this six-city journey invites the public to explore the transformative power of listening, human connection, and belonging.

2025 Sidewalk Talk Listening Bus Tour Logo

Sidewalk Talk, featured on CBS Sunday Morning alongside U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in a segment on loneliness, is no stranger to national recognition. CBS once remarked that if the U.S. had a "Minister of Loneliness," founder Traci Ruble might be it. With this second Listening Bus Tour, Ruble and her team aim to deepen the movement's impact and inspire communities to foster empathy and social health.

The tour will stop in six cities across the Midwest and East Coast from May 5-10, turning sidewalks into spaces of radical kindness:

• Monday, May 5: Kansas City, MO
• Tuesday, May 6: St. Louis, MO
• Wednesday, May 7: Louisville, KY 
• Thursday, May 8: Cincinnati, OH
• Friday, May 9: Columbus, OH
•  Saturday, May 10: Pittsburgh, PA

"Listening is the foundation of mental health, social health, and community connection," says Ruble. "It's impossible not to love someone whose story you've fully heard, and that's the heart of what we're bringing to each city-hope, love, and a chance to heal."

The Listening Bus Tour days will include morning TV, radio, and podcast interviews to amplify the message. Lunchtime will feature free listening training sessions hosted by local partners, open to the public and partner's staff. Evening public listening events will occur from 5-7 PM on the sidewalk, followed by community dinners hosted by local churches, mosques, and synagogues to deepen connections.

This grassroots movement is being coordinated by a small but mighty team of three: Traci Ruble, Travia Fitzpatrick, and Claire Crum with many new helpers rolling up their sleeves. The tour is entirely volunteer-led, with no big development teams or corporate budgets, relying on the power of community and partnership to make it happen.

Sidewalk Talk is calling on local communities to help bring the Listening Bus Tour to life. Ways to support include sponsorships from local businesses and foundations, hosting partners for lunchtime listening trainings or community dinners, and media outreach by podcasters, journalists, and media outlets.

For more details, sponsorship opportunities, or media inquiries, visit the 2025 Listening Bus Tour page or email bustour@sidewalk-talk.org.

Founded in 2015, Sidewalk Talk is a global grassroots movement dedicated to fostering compassion and belonging through the power of listening. With over 10,000 trained volunteers in 15 countries, Sidewalk Talk was recently selected to give micro-grants to city chapter leaders from Amazon Web Services, Nickelodeon Children's Network, and Paramount. This grassroots organization transforms public spaces into places of healing, amplifying unheard voices and reducing loneliness.

Sidewalk Talk Listeners listening on the sidewalk.

About Sidewalk Talk

Sidewalk Talk is a volunteer-led non-profit made up of 10,000 listeners who offer free listening on public sidewalks across 15 countries. It was started in San Francisco, CA, USA in 2015 by two psychotherapists to elevate community health and be a conduit to city services. Sidewalk Talk received funding in 2024 from Amazon, Nickelodeon Children's Network, and Paramount to give directly to individuals who want to start a Sidewalk Talk chapter in their town. This has reignited our spark and we will now have a bus tour across the US Midwest in 2025. Sidewalk Talk has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Oprah Magazine, CBS Sunday Morning, El Pais, Telerama, the BBC World Service and many more. At Sidewalk Talk, we believe in the transformative power of heart-centered listening. Our mission is to reduce loneliness, promote inclusion, and enhance social health by listening on public sidewalks worldwide.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238012