BALTIMORE, MD — Hooray Squad, the Baltimore-born gratitude movement that turns everyday thank-yous into a citywide celebration, has logged 1,070 Hoorays since launching July 4—surpassing its 1,000-Hooray goal before Labor Day.

A Hooray is a moment of public gratitude: a verbal thank-you, sticker, or handwritten card given to someone—and then logged as part of the movement. What began as a practice inside Perfectly Me’s Hero Camps grew into a community-wide effort involving families, schools, workplaces, and neighborhood groups.

“There is a gratitude gap in this city, and we intend to close it. People don’t get tired of being appreciated. They get tired of waiting for it.”

Raquel Whiting Gilmer, Founder of Hooray Squad and CEO of Perfectly Me

Baltimore’s public works crews helped bring the movement to the street

During Hooray Week, the Squad coordinated with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works to recognize Street & Alley and Graffiti crews on the job. Sixteen Hooray Ambassadors made three morning runs across seven stops in Curtis Bay, Fairfield, Brooklyn, and downtown, delivering 49 street-level Hoorays directly to crews.

“It’s nice to be appreciated. A lot of times you do a job, you go in, get out, and you don’t hear anything.”

A construction worker receiving a Hooray

“Our Street and Alley crews don’t often hear ‘thank you’ in the middle of a shift. Hooray Squad made sure they did, and that’s a partnership we want to build on,” said Kendall Abu-Hakim, Bureau Head of Solid Waste for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.

A lot of people did a little—and kept going

Of the 124 people who joined in, 87 gave just one to three Hoorays. The movement did not reach 1,000 because a small group did a lot. It got there because many people did a little, again and again, across the summer.

Hoorays reached mail carriers, cafeteria staff, custodians, a police officer, small business staff, teachers, coaches, neighbors, and strangers. The movement also traveled beyond Maryland to Oklahoma, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Hawaii.

One small moment

She remembered the stickers in her purse.

On a hot afternoon, a Family Dollar security guard carried two cases of water to Michelle’s car. She gave him a Hooray with her “extreme gratitude”—one small moment repeated in different ways more than a thousand times.

What comes next

Hooray Squad is turning a successful summer campaign into a year-round movement. Plans include deepening its relationship with DPW, expanding partnerships with schools, workplaces, and community organizations, testing the student-led Hooray at School model, and exploring growth beyond Baltimore.

The goal is simple: keep learning what helps gratitude become a habit that spreads from person to person and community to community.