The warriors we call Street Teams

Rain or shine, they stick together. And by stick together we mean think of each other while they’re spread across the country.

This past February, we sent out five teams to set up camp in major cities around the U.S. Their mission: to make Kony famous. Their strategy: to campaign for the KONY 2012 film and spread the word of Invisible Children through face-to-face interactions. We named them Street Teams, and with a wish and a prayer, waved goodbye to the teams of two as they made their way to Austin, Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Then March 5th happened.

The KONY 2012 film launched on a Monday, and by that Friday, it’s safe to say we felt as though the world exploded and Kony dust was settling everywhere. While our staff was (relatively) safe within the walls of our HQ offices, our Street Team-ers were in foreign lands (ok, foreign to them) witnessing the hoopla firsthand. Armed with a KONY 2012 T-shirt and business cards, they held their heads up high as supporters, haters, strangers, and friends alike drew lines in the sand as the film spread throughout the world.

Case in point: they’re warriors. They stayed put, they endured, they planned, they rallied. Meet them. Know them. Call them. Love them.

Kimberly Chirillo & Dan Kroszner

Besides meeting anyone and everyone in Chi-Town, this duo seem to particularly gravitate toward all things awesome (think arranging secret acoustic shows featuring @kevinprchal) and creatively inventing “Meet Up Mondays” all in the name of spreading the word about the LRA conflict in Central Africa. You’ll have to get in touch with them to find out what Monday nights entail. #intriguing

Cassidy Myers & Alex Alberico

This twosome gets things done – we’re talking postering events, hosting a screening at a venue at SXSW, going big for Cover the Night, and all the while keeping Austin weird and proving it with blog posts from the road. And up their sleeve? The first IC-ATX Summer Series show on June 18th. Yup – local bands, live music. I know, we want to go too.

Alex Naser-Hall & Abby Finck

Busy in the Big Apple, these Street Team-ers have covered their bases from their booth at Bamboozle Music Festival, to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation yearly conference (Alex spoke on a panel!), to volunteering with Build It Green: NYC for Cover the Night, to looking ahead for projects with NYCares. No slacktivism here.

Hiram Villarreal & Elissa O’Dell

Hiram and Elissa are showing the City of Angels what’s up. A massive Cover the Night event at Rubix Hollywood in partnership with LA Canvas, involvement with clubs (Hi Bonita High, LMU, and the Rivera family!), and meetings at iHop with supporters (they like to keep it real, and there’s really no better way than through breakfast combos). The LA Street Team loves to dance and can be found promoting IC around town while busting moves – odds are you can find them at It’s A School Night on Monday nights.

Raf Deza & Gerri Lutaaya

In the land of politics and lawmakers, the DC Street Team is making their mark. We don’t know if we’re more jealous because they get to work closely with our friends at Resolve, or because they’re being a part of charity events like Circles 13, or because they’re hosting pre-launch Cover the Night parties at cool places like L2 Lounge. They’ve checked in from the road with a jam-packed blog and with a mass of supporters following their social networks, they’re proving there’s truth behind the power of the human connection.

So to the locals in the five cities – contact the Street Teams if you want to get involved in your city, they’re dying to meet you. And take care of them for us. Remind them how appreciated they are and how the KONY 2012 campaign would not be the same without them. And to our beloved ten – send us your warrior capes and we’ll get them dry cleaned for you.

-Krista