I AM ONE Podcast by Postpartum Support International

#ClimbWithPSI

• Episode 72

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On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with … ourselves! PSI's Annual Conference is right around the corner, and we know what that means — familiar faces, big energy, and a lot of people who are going to walk past the Climb table and think, wait, what is that? So we figured — we have microphones. Let's talk about it! Before I ever led a Climb, I attended one. I showed up to support a friend. What I didn't know at the time was that I was there for me, too. I just didn't know it yet. Whether you're thinking about attending a PSI Climb event, leading one, partnering with one — or you've heard about The Climb and aren't entirely sure what we're talking about — this one's for you. And if you're headed to PSI’s Annual Conference this year, come say hi to us at the Climb table! Without any further ado, please sit back, relax, and let's talk about how to get involved in a Climb near you!


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Dani:

Welcome to the I Am One podcast. On today's episode, we're sitting down with ourselves. PSI's annual conference is right around the corner, and we know what that means. Familiar faces, big energy, and a lot of people are going to be walking past the Climb table and thinking, wait, what's that? So we figured, we have microphones, let's talk about it. Before I ever led a Climb, I attended one. I showed up to support a friend, and what I didn't know at the time was that I was actually there for me too, and I just didn't know it yet. Whether you're thinking about attending a PSI Climb event, leading one, partnering with one, or you've heard about the Climb and you're not entirely sure what we're talking about, this one's for you. And if you're headed to PSI's annual conference this year, please come by and say hi to us at the Climb table. Without any further ado, please sit back, relax, and let's talk about how to get involved in a Climb near you. Okay, well today we are doing something a little different. We are welcoming ourselves to the podcast studio as both hosts and guests. Double threat, watch out. We are here to talk about a PSI program that is near and dear to both of our hearts. But before we jump in, I am absolutely honored to introduce all of our listeners to someone uniquely qualified to discuss today's topic, someone who has been training volunteers to represent PSI and put on events in hundreds of communities across the United States for the past eight years. The one, the only.

Emily:

Nine.

Dani:

Oh, excuse me. Wow. I was trying to do an intro there.

Emily:

Sorry.

Dani:

Somebody who has been training volunteers to put on events in their communities for the past nine years. The one, the only, Emily Jankowski, come on down.

Emily:

I feel like I'm like the next contestant on a game show.

Dani:

That's my next bit. I was about to say this isn't The Price is Right. Everybody's getting a peek behind the podcast curtain. Anyway, this is not a game show. This is a podcast. So anyway, Emily, thank you so much for being here.

Emily:

Why, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Dani:

This is the part where you introduce me.

Emily:

Right.

Dani:

Okay.

Emily:

I have the pleasure of introducing Dani Giddens, who has also been training Climb leaders to lead events in their communities for a minute.

Dani:

Not nine years, but a while.

Emily:

Welcome to the studio.

Dani:

Thanks so much for having me.

Emily:

Yeah, it's a pleasure.

Dani:

Okay, I'm going to move to the other side of the microphone now and ask some more questions. I'm just kidding.

Emily:

Got it.

Dani:

Listen, we are here to talk about something very exciting today. So with PSI's annual conference just around the corner, it is June 2026 right now, we know that we are about to run into lots of familiar faces, current Climb leaders, potential Climb leaders.

Emily:

Future Climb leaders.

Dani:

And people who want to get involved in their local community but aren't quite sure how yet.

Emily:

We've got you covered.

Dani:

That's where we come in. So that's what we're here for today. Whether you are thinking about attending a Climb, leading one, supporting one as a community partner, or if you are Climb curious and you are here to learn more, this episode's for you. And if you'll be at the conference, don't forget to stop by the Climb table and say hello.

Emily:

All right. So the Climb exists because there's a parent in every community who has survived the hardest transition of their life and needed a place to put what they learned through that experience to use. And so the Climb was born. This is where you put your experience, your professional, your personal experience to work in your community.

Dani:

Mm-hmm. Before I ever led a Climb, I attended a Climb. And the reason I attended was because I was supporting a friend who was a Climb leader. She was putting on this really awesome event in our local area. And I was coming to support her. But what I didn't know at the time was I was attending for me. I just didn't know it yet. This was the community that I didn't know that I needed yet. So very important to me, too.

Emily:

That's exactly it. I mean, when you walk into a Climb, everybody close your eyes for a minute. I'm going to describe a Climb to you. Don't picture a rock wall. Don't picture a mountain. Maybe a walking path. Maybe a hiking path. A park. A playground. Strollers rolling around. Resource tables. Maybe someone laughing for the first time in months. Maybe someone who left the house in a moment of bravery and showed up where they didn't know anyone yet. That's what a Climb feels like.

Dani:

We get this question a lot. Is every Climb the same? Absolutely not.

Emily:

Are all communities the same? Also no.

Dani:

Some Climbs are 12 people on a playground meeting up and connecting. Some Climbs are a few hundred people connecting at the Village Green for a resource fair. Both are important. Both are the real thing. Both are a Climb.

Emily:

So if you're wondering if you belong at a Climb, you don't need a diagnosis, you don't need a degree to come to a Climb. If perinatal mental health, if postpartum depression, if OCD, if psychosis, if birth trauma, any of it has affected your life, has affected the lives of the people that you care about at all.

Dani:

Spoiler, it has. Whether you know it or not.

Emily:

It has. There is a place for you at a Climb. You absolutely belong at a Climb. So if you are getting curious, if you're ready to attend, go to postpartum.net/theClimb and click on find a Climb to get connected to the Climb nearest you.

Dani:

Yep. So far, we've got over 100 events across the U.S. on the map.

Emily:

Growing every day.

Dani:

Mm-hmm. So what are other ways that folks can participate in a Climb? They're not leading a Climb. They're not just kind of showing up as an attendee. What are other ways that folks can participate?

Emily:

Yeah, I mean, sometimes you want to show up to serve your community, to show up and support your community. If you own a business, if you are in private practice, if you want your private practice to table at the local Climb so that your community knows that you're here, that you provide care, this is how to connect with exactly the right people in your community. There is a table at your local Climb with your name on it. It is waiting for you so that you can be there and show up for the families, for the other providers in your community. Become a sponsor of your local Climb. Bring what you have to offer to your local Climb so that the parents, the other providers, everyone will know that you are there to support and to be supported as well.

Dani:

And it doesn't need to be a bunch of products on a table. It can be you sitting there and what you're doing is you're showing up and you're talking to folks.

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

Okay, so if you are a doula, a lactation consultant, a pelvic floor physical therapist, if you are a musician that sings songs with kids and parents.

Emily:

Oh, yeah, like a parent and baby class.

Dani:

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. If you own a bookstore, a coffee shop, insert your business here. If you're interested in supporting an event near you and supporting the work that we're doing at PSI to support providers and parents, then we would be honored for you to sponsor one of the events near you. How do folks do that?

Emily:

Yeah. If you are ready to connect to this community, go to postpartum.net/theClimb, click on find a Climb, and then register as a sponsor. Choose that ticket that says that I'm sponsoring this event.

Dani:

On the Climb map, you'll be able to see the contact information of the volunteer that's putting it on.

Emily:

The where, the when. Yeah.

Dani:

And you can reach out and just say, like, raise your hand. Like–

Emily:

I'm in.

Dani:

I'm in. What next?

Emily:

Exactly.

Dani:

And they'll be amped to hear from you.

Emily:

So we've talked about attending. We've talked about becoming a sponsor. This is a trifecta. Your third option. You get to that map and you're like, I don't see anything near me. This is the universe, maybe, saying to you, are you ready for this? Leading a Climb is not an event production.

Dani:

Like this isn't the Eras tour.

Emily:

This isn't the Eras tour. You're in your Climb era, but you are not hosting Taylor Swift. If you are, I'm jealous and call me.

Dani:

Hey, Taylor, call us if you'd like to come to a Climb. Hey, let us know. We'd love to have you.

Emily:

Exactly. You're hosting your community. If you can host a backyard barbecue, if you've ever volunteered in a classroom.

Dani:

You want to talk about a big ask.

Emily:

If you're a teacher, if you are a therapist and you know how to hold space for people, you are already ready.

Dani:

Yes.

Emily:

To host a Climb. If you are up for gathering people and gathering the places that support folks, therapy office, etc., then you can do this. And you're not going to be alone in doing this because our office, you, me, this is the vibe. Like we are so excited to help you bring PSI to your community, we're with you every step of the way. We just want to help you make it happen.

Dani:

I wish we could attend every Climb. You know, if wishes were fishes.

Emily:

We would need teleportation because there are so many Climbs that happen on the same day. I mean, we would have to just zip, zip, zip. Somebody invent that.

Dani:

I'm going to put that on my wish list.

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

That would be very cool. You know, while we can't be there in person at every single event, we are here supporting you remotely from the Climb office via email, phone call, text.

Emily:

Zooms.

Dani:

Lots of zooms.

Emily:

Lots of zooms.

Dani:

And that's what we're here for. Because, I mean, the truth is, is at one point in our life, Emily and I were both first time Climb leaders. We have been where you are about to be. We don't believe that there is such thing as a dumb question. If you're confused, we're here to help clarify.

Emily:

Every question is a good question.

Dani:

We live for this stuff, man.

Emily:

Yes. So if you're interested, if you're curious, if you are, like Dani said, if you're Climb curious, if you're not quite sure, but maybe you could lead a Climb, go to postpartum.net/theClimb. Go to volunteer, get started and meet with us. Let's talk more.

Dani:

Yeah.

Emily:

You can also email climb@postpartum.net and say, I think I'm interested. Send me more information.

Dani:

Can I ask some questions?

Emily:

Absolutely.

Dani:

That is what we're here for.

Emily:

Come hang out with us in a Zoom.

Dani:

Yeah, listen, we work from home. We don't get out much. So any chance to hop on a Zoom with somebody who is equally as passionate about perinatal mental health advocacy as we are, we are absolutely amped to do that. And listen, before you talk yourself out of it, I just have to remind you that leading a Climb is not, as Emily said earlier, a giant production. You are showing up for the community in the way that it needs you to. You are hosting a gathering in your community. You find the place. You invite the people. You are not doing this alone.

Emily:

That's right.

Dani:

In fact, a lot of Climb leaders have co-leaders. So, you know, grab your BFF, your, I don't know, Emily.

Emily:

Your friendly neighborhood colleague.

Dani:

And say, hey, should we do this together? And then both of you go to the website. Both of you apply and say, I think we want to do this together. And if you have questions, reach out to us because we are here every step of the way with you. If you think you want to do this, go for it. You are about to be also part of a really big Climb Leader community.

Emily:

It's a very special place.

Dani:

Yeah. So besides the help that the Climb Office can give as you're planning this event that you're going to host, you'll also have opportunity to connect with other Climb Leaders across the country. Maybe there's folks that live nearby, actually, in your state even.

Emily:

Connecting with other Climb leaders was absolutely what has brought me back every year.

Dani:

There's a lot of like idea sharing, brainstorming. Even folks that have led Climbs for years are like, oh my gosh, wow, that person shared this really cool idea.

Emily:

I love that. Can I copy you?

Dani:

I hadn't even thought about that. I think I'm going to incorporate that in my event. There's a lot of opportunity to connect with other Climb leaders. You're not doing this alone. What if people are a little bit nervous though? Hosting a Climb is also part fundraiser, right?

Emily:

It is. But if you're not a fundraiser, if you've never done anything like this before, you've never led a big event, a small event, you're still in the middle of recovery, none of this disqualifies you. Your passion for this cause is the thing that is going to make you a great leader. I am telling you from years of experience, passion is nine-tenths of it.

Dani:

We're going to have a growth mindset here. None of us are expert client leaders yet. There's always room for learning new things, right?

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

Okay. So speaking of fundraising, there's something really exciting that's happening in 2026 that we've never...

Emily:

Been able to do before. It's brand new.

Dani:

Exactly. And so in 2026, if you are a client leader, you put on an event and you personally fundraise $3,000 or more. Is everybody sitting down for this? Hang on. I should have- I should have...

Emily:

Told them to sit down first.

Dani:

Okay, let's give everybody a moment. Please go sit. Okay. Stop your car, pull over on the side. I'm just kidding.

Emily:

Don't do that. Oh, my gosh.

Dani:

Okay. If you are a 2026 Climb Leader, you have personally fundraised $3,000.

Emily:

By the end of the calendar year.

Dani:

Yeah, by December 31st. I mean, it's June right now when this episode drops. You've got the whole second half of 2026.

Emily:

That's right.

Dani:

If you lead in Fundraise $3,000, your full three-day registration to the PSI conference in 2027 is on us.

Emily:

That's right.

Dani:

Period.

Emily:

We want you at the conference. Now, okay, $3,000 seems like a lot. This is not one big ask, though. This is a stack of smaller ones. The Climb runs on what's called peer-to-peer fundraising. I ask you, me, my friends, my neighbors to donate to this cause. I tell them about my experience, about why it matters to me. And I ask them if they're in a position to give, to give.

Dani:

You're not asking, can somebody give me $3,000?

Emily:

Right.$10 Tuesday, $5 Friday, $20 here, $20 there.

Dani:

$5, $10 here or there.

Emily:

Yep.

Dani:

It adds up. I was shocked, actually, my first year leading. I didn't go out asking for giant donations from businesses. I asked friends and family and neighbors and acquaintances and people didn't know that perinatal mental health disorders touched my life the way that it did.

Emily:

Right.

Dani:

And I shared a little about what I experienced and why it was important that I was helping put on a Climb event in our local community. And I will just say I was blown away by people's generosity. It was little donation after little donation that ended up making this giant impact. I was so excited to have fundraised the amount I did for PSI that year just by asking for small donations from folks that I'm already connected to.

Emily:

Right.

Dani:

If you're nervous, if you don't have experience.

Emily:

We've already pre-written the emails for you. You've got this. You know, add your own deets, cut and paste, send it.

Dani:

And I will say, full disclosure, this was probably the part that I was the most nervous about as a first-time client leader.

Emily:

I think that's fair. And I think that sometimes that's because numbers like this, they sort of feel like something that we're measuring ourselves against. But I want to be abundantly clear.$3,000, this is like the stretch goal for folks who really want to go to the conference or who know that they are already interested in going to the conference and they want to make a difference and...

Dani:

It's expensive.

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

In this economy.

Emily:

In this economy.

Dani:

This is not that kind of podcast. But anyway.

Emily:

$3,000 is not the bar to lead. That's like the extra double bonus round. Leading a Climb, you're pledging to fundraise with us. That's it. You're pledging to bring your community together. You're pledging to get attendees to register. The conference is going big and getting a big reward. It is not the cost of showing up.

Dani:

If you have never been to a PSI conference before, it is hundreds.

Emily:

And hundreds.

Dani:

Yeah. This year, it's so many hundreds that it's into the thousands. But we digress. Hundreds of people who are in this one place, hundreds of folks who are passionate about supporting folks in the perinatal period for personal reasons, for professional reasons, and everything in between. If you've never been, there's no place like it. It's incredible. You know what we forgot to say?

Emily:

What?

Dani:

If none of the reasons that we gave you, that we just discussed, were enough to entice you to lead an event in your community, we're going to send you a free t-shirt.

Emily:

If you love to earn free t-shirts, man, have we got a t-shirt for you.

Dani:

So this year's Climb shirt has got a big blue dot on the back for the blue dot. Check it out on PSI's website. Put a link in the show notes. But also, we've got a lovely definition. What is the Climb? Oh, we'll tell you what the Climb is. We put it on t-shirts. So the Climb. Verb, akin to care, take action, hold space to connect, to show up visibly and powerfully in communities. That's who we are, so come Climb with us.

Emily:

That's right. The Climb is a reminder out loud and in public that you, that I, we're never alone.

Dani:

So if any part of you lit up while we were talking today, that's the part to listen to right now.

Emily:

Yes, lean in.

Dani:

Lean in, raise your hand, click on the link in the show notes to get to our website to find out more, shoot us an email if that's what you'd like to do to take the next step. We'll take it from here. We are here with you to help you make it happen.

Emily:

Whether you're a parent, a provider, a provider parent.

Dani:

A parent provider? Never mind.

Emily:

A business owner in your community, you have a sister or a best friend or a favorite uncle who had a really rough transition to parenthood, whoever you are, come to a Climb, bring your table, lead a Climb, whoever you are, we're all starting in the same place. We're starting together.

Dani:

Thanks for tuning in to the I Am One podcast. Check out today's show notes where we'll drop links to all the important things that we mentioned in this episode. Please consider sharing about I Am One on social media and following and rating our show wherever it is that you listen to podcasts. It only takes a minute of your time and, well, that'll help our collective mission of bringing resources and local support to folks worldwide. From everyone here at PSI, thanks again for listening.

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Dani Giddens (she/her)

Host
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Emily Jankowski (she/her)

Co-host