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“I see my neighbors as relatives, and good relatives help each other.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Kinsale Hueston ( @kinsalehues . She #Advocates for indigenous rights and mutual aid, where individuals belonging to a community take action to address the needs within that community.⁣ ⁣ “After spending a summer helping fundraise for mutual aid-powered COVID-19 relief on the Navajo Nation, I took time off from school to work to help tenants stay housed during the pandemic.⁣ ⁣ My job included a project installing a new community fridge at a people’s kitchen downtown in partnership with LA Community Fridges. When I learned more about the community network that was running these fridges, I started doing runs myself and taking in random donations so I could keep these fridges stocked. @friendsandfridges was born from that, and we do regular drops to connect with the people running these fridges and to talk to the neighbors who use them.⁣ ⁣ These networks have existed for a long time, especially in indigenous communities. The amazing Diné women from @orendatribe and ADABI Healing Shelter are practicing a form of communal care that has existed since basically time immemorial — it takes kinship and connection and a holistic care for each other.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @kinsalehues

“Hold truth to power. Hold those in power accountable by fighting for what is just, for all.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Padmini Gopal ( @climatekarma . She currently lives in Accra, Ghana, where she #Advocates for climate justice.⁣ ⁣ “Growing up, I was almost always drawn towards understanding human interactions better,” explains Padmini, who is originally from India. “But it was some courses that I took during undergrad that really opened my eyes to and got me interested in the way we humans interact with, or rather exploit, our Earth, our only home.⁣ ⁣ My hope for the future is that those who are the most responsible for current and historical global emissions are soon held accountable and quickly transition to carbon neutrality. Their actions inevitably affect the communities here in Ghana, like many others in the Global South.⁣ ⁣ Seeing and recognizing how many communities here in Ghana and my home country India have for times immemorial lived in harmony with nature and its cycles and have maintained deep connections to their land — that inspires me. It reminds me of what many of us have lost or never had, a connection with Mother Earth, and the vital need to help re-create that for others through the work I do.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @climatekarma

Blink and you may miss one or ✌️ of Anastasia Pilepchuk’s ( @nastia_pilepchuk dreamlike masks. 👀⁣ ⁣ See more of her creations and learn about her inspiration and process on our story and on IGTV.⁣ ⁣ #HiddenGems

Artist Anastasia Pilepchuk ( @nastia_pilepchuk creates out of this world masks inspired by nature and guided by a creative process rooted in adventure.⁣ ⁣ In today’s episode of #HiddenGems Anastasia opens the doors to her studio and invites us into her magical 🌏 of masks.

“All I really want people to know is that your differences are your superpower.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Tilly Lockey ( @tilly.lockey . She #Advocates for body positivity and equality, especially in the disabled community.⁣ ⁣ “Growing up, I always had to explain myself,” explains 15-year-old Tilly, who lost her hands to meningitis when she was a baby. “Lots of people would just constantly assume things about me like, ‘Oh, well, she wasn’t able to do this, she mustn't be able to do that.’ It really got on my nerves because I’m a very independent person.⁣ ⁣ I don’t have hands, so I wasn’t going to be able to write, draw or do anything along those lines. I’ve gone down the route of prosthetics. Originally, I was given a glove and told that I kind of had to hide away. So that was definitely motivation for me to just be, like, ‘Why do I want to hide away? That’s not what I want to do. I want to embrace my differences.’⁣ ⁣ I’ve worked with prosthetic companies throughout my life, and now I’m working with a company called Open Bionics. We’ve made a bionic Hero Arm, which is basically made to accentuate those differences, which is why I love it so much. I like to think of these bionic arms now as more than a medical device — they help you both mentally and physically, which is a huge improvement.⁣ ⁣ I wouldn’t take my disability and what happened to me when I was so young back for the world, because it’s made me the person I am today.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel by @tilly.lockey

Dance and history are both made by movements. ✨💫⁣ ⁣ For Black History Month, celebrated in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands in October, professional dancers Taitlyn and Kaylee Jaiy ( @thejaiytwins created a routine to music by @sonsofkemet and inspired by Black culture’s enduring legacy.⁣ ⁣ “It’s so important to honor and celebrate Black history, especially in 2020,” Taitlyn says. “It’s a time for so many to come together, learn and hopefully create change for a brighter future.” #ShareBlackStories⁣ ⁣ Reel by @thejaiytwins

“I frequently receive messages from trans folks saying that my story, work or presence has saved their life. This means the world to me. It is the sole reason I do the work. I find myself in tears each time I hear this.”⁣ ⁣ Meet Schuyler Bailar ( @pinkmantaray . He’s a full-time educator and #Advocates for transgender rights, awareness and inclusion. “Growing up, I never saw myself in the world, so when I became the first transgender athlete to compete for an NCAA D1 men’s team in 2015, I decided to share my story because I want kids like me to know that I exist — not ‘I’ as in Schuyler Bailar, but ‘I’ as a trans athlete who not only exists, but also thrives. I want them to know they can exist and thrive, too.⁣ ⁣ Although most people logically understand one trans person cannot possibly represent all trans people, I think I’m often expected to represent entire communities anyway. And I cannot do this. Trans people are far more diverse than my story can demonstrate. This work should always raise the voices of those most marginalized, specifically Black and brown trans women.⁣ ⁣ Most people spend a great deal of time focusing on difference. This isn’t always bad — these differences can be beautiful and are often ways of distinguishing ourselves. But we should value common ground — the experiences and characteristics that tie us together — over everything because this is where our humanity truly thrives.”⁣ ⁣ #Advocates highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨⁣ ⁣ Reel of @pinkmantaray by @ehsanimami

“Thrive and fight.” 💕⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Four-time Olympian Chaunté Lowe ( @chauntelowe repeats these words during challenging times.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ “No other woman in American history has jumped higher than me,” says the @usatf team member. Chaunté is training for her fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo while she fights breast cancer.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ “I am a warrior,” says the mother of three who was diagnosed in the summer of 2019. “I fight hard for myself but even harder for other people. I believe that the most important thing you can do with your life is to actively show genuine love to your fellow man, especially the oppressed and the brokenhearted. I feel the strongest when I am filled with the joy that comes from my heart.”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As far as #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth goes, Chaunté wishes more people understood their risks and options. “The danger for being diagnosed with breast cancer in America throughout a woman’s life is 1 in 8,” she says. “Early detection gives you more options for treatment. I wish more people knew their breasts better than they know their own face.”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Photo by @chauntelowe

#HelloFrom California Street in San Francisco, California.⁣ ⁣ We are dreaming of the hilly streets in the storied city, where the old trolleys climb and descend against the backdrop of the Bay Bridge. ⁣ ⁣ Even when it’s raining. ☔️ ⁣ ⁣ Photo by @mindz.eye

Now THIS is a family portrait.⁣ ⁣ Meet Wilbur ( @wilbur_allen_bashar . He’s a Ba-Shar — part basset hound, part Shar-Pei — with an affinity for bow ties and a love for the “Dumplings,” his guinea pig friends, Market Price and Rumpadump.⁣ ⁣ “They genuinely all get along,” says their human Jen. “Wilbur has grown so close to the Dumplings that he seems to think he’s just a guinea pig himself.”⁣ ⁣ #WeeklyFluff⁣ ⁣ Photo by @wilbur_allen_bashar

For Sebastian Yatra ( @sebastianyatra , it’s not a fiesta without the fam. 🎉 Today, the Colombian singer celebrates his birthday — and the last day of #LatinxHeritageMonth – with a party that is both familiar and fun. 🎺🎂🎶⁣ ⁣ Reel by @sebastianyatra

Artist Preta Wolzak’s ( @pretawolzak textured mixed-media pieces focus on hard issues, including gender equality, representation and race. Her collections “Ma Petit Inuite” and “Arctic Charade” (pictured) confronts the impact of humans’ behavior on our planet and the effects of climate change.⁣ ⁣ “I am driven by my irritation of how we are treating the globe, like tourism at Antarctica and the Arctic and mining for resources in those particular areas which are so vital for the balance in the world,” says Preta, who incorporates embroidery, sequins, acrylics and leather into her work.⁣ ⁣ “I love to use acrobats in my work, who seem to stand for joyfulness, carelessness, sparkle, like what tourism looks like on first sight. People need entertainment and they see the world as one big amusement park.⁣ ⁣ The acrobats stand for the foolish behavior of mankind ruining its environment, which now even threatens to spread out to the last untouched areas of our planet: the North and South Pole.⁣ ⁣ I think it’s better that people get my message through humor and joyfulness. It can be serious, humorous and aesthetic at the same time.⁣” ⁣ #ThisWeekOnInstagram⁣ ⁣ Art by @pretawolzak