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The Full Story

What started as a small experiment, an afternoon of phones tucked away and hearts wide open, grew into a movement. The Unplugged collective began with a simple question: What happens when we put our screens down and truly look at each other again?

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At first it was a few gatherings . . . community gatherings, workshops, and swap meets, where people came to breathe, listen and remember what connection feels like. There were no filters, no feeds, just laughter, eye contact, and a simple magic that can't be captured on a screen.

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One day I realized that "Unplugging" wasn't just about technology, it was about reconnection. To ourselves, our neighbors, and the networks of care already thriving around us.

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Today, The Unplugged Collective is a Bay Area based 501(c)(3) nonprofit reimagining how communities gather and grow together. We are working to collaborate with local leaders, mutual aid groups, gardens, artists, and neighbors to build real-world networks of support, what we call Heart of the Block.

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Woman Gardening in Sunlight

What We Believe

  • Real Connection is a basic human need

  • Technology should serve humanity, not replace it

  • Everyone has something to offer, a skill, a story, a helping hand

  • Local is powerful. Change begins on our own block

  • Slowing down is an act of resistance in a world that moves too fast

Where We're Going

We're building a network of mutual-aid projects, skill shares, neighborhood gatherings, and collaborative tools that strengthen the threads between us.

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Soon our Heart of the Block platform will make it easy for neighbors to find and support each other by connecting the people and places that make community whole.

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We're not waiting for permission. We're rebuilding what it means to be together,

one Unplugged moment at a time.

Adult and child yoga

TUC

The Unplugged Collective

Unplugged began as a simple idea: put the phones away and come back to what matters. Conversation, shared meals, and real human presence. What started as small screen-free gatherings has grown into something much larger.

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Now we're evolving into a living network, a nonprofit dedicated to mapping, amplifying, and supporting community builders, gardens, mutual aid groups, and creative projects already bringing people together. We're still unplugging, but now its about unplugging from isolation and disconnection, so we can reconnect with each other and the places we call home.

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Every dollar we raise helps us continue this work of creating accessible gatherings, supporting neighborhood initiatives, and building the local map that will make the efforts visible and connected.

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If you believe in reweaving the fabric of community, we'd love your support. Together we can keep this movement growing. One conversation, one garden, and one act of care at a time.

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