Inside a flower-filled Carmichael home, Sarah Hammill is building more than badges. She’s building belonging.A licensed trauma therapist and content creator, Hammill originally set out to share mental health content with a modest Instagram audience. Instead, her message resonated far beyond expectations, growing to more than a third of a million followers. Then, one day on her couch in pajamas, inspiration struck.“I was literally sitting here on my couch in my pajamas and was like, why don’t we get badges as adults?” Hammill said. “If we could have badges as adults, what badges would we want?”The answer came quickly.”I want a badge for leaving a toxic relationship,” she said. “I want a badge for asking for a raise. I want a badge for remembering to brush my teeth at night before I fall asleep on the couch.”From that idea, “Joy Finders” was born: a troop for women who earn embroidered badges for doing hard, meaningful, and often unseen things in everyday life. The concept blends childlike wonder with intentional ritual, offering members an analog way to document milestones in a digital world.The program centers around six categories: explore, connect, restore, share, tend, and create. Members complete monthly challenges and earn badges that recognize both service to others and care for themselves.“I don’t want to create a program that’s all about giving, because we already give so much,” Hammill said. “But there is something life-giving about being of service… and it’s always balanced by doing something for yourself.”What began as a simple question online quickly turned into a movement. Thousands responded. Joy Finders launched on April 1, and its first 100 spots filled within hours. Now, members span the United States, Canada, and Australia.For many women, Hammill says, Joy Finders meets a need that modern adulthood often leaves unanswered: community.“Where do we find other women who are carrying the burdens of adulthood in real ways?” she said. “We’re trying to carry our responsibilities and our suffering and our pain and our sorrow — and sort of defiantly claiming our joy.”That spirit is at the heart of Joy Finders: celebrating the tiny wins no one else sees, filling your own cup, and choosing to be fully alive in your own life.Learn more about Joy Finders here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
CARMICHAEL, Calif. —
Inside a flower-filled Carmichael home, Sarah Hammill is building more than badges. She’s building belonging.
A licensed trauma therapist and content creator, Hammill originally set out to share mental health content with a modest Instagram audience. Instead, her message resonated far beyond expectations, growing to more than a third of a million followers. Then, one day on her couch in pajamas, inspiration struck.
“I was literally sitting here on my couch in my pajamas and was like, why don’t we get badges as adults?” Hammill said. “If we could have badges as adults, what badges would we want?”
The answer came quickly.
“I want a badge for leaving a toxic relationship,” she said. “I want a badge for asking for a raise. I want a badge for remembering to brush my teeth at night before I fall asleep on the couch.”
From that idea, “Joy Finders” was born: a troop for women who earn embroidered badges for doing hard, meaningful, and often unseen things in everyday life.
The concept blends childlike wonder with intentional ritual, offering members an analog way to document milestones in a digital world.
The program centers around six categories: explore, connect, restore, share, tend, and create.
Members complete monthly challenges and earn badges that recognize both service to others and care for themselves.
“I don’t want to create a program that’s all about giving, because we already give so much,” Hammill said. “But there is something life-giving about being of service… and it’s always balanced by doing something for yourself.”
What began as a simple question online quickly turned into a movement. Thousands responded. Joy Finders launched on April 1, and its first 100 spots filled within hours.
Now, members span the United States, Canada, and Australia.
For many women, Hammill says, Joy Finders meets a need that modern adulthood often leaves unanswered: community.
“Where do we find other women who are carrying the burdens of adulthood in real ways?” she said. “We’re trying to carry our responsibilities and our suffering and our pain and our sorrow — and sort of defiantly claiming our joy.”
That spirit is at the heart of Joy Finders: celebrating the tiny wins no one else sees, filling your own cup, and choosing to be fully alive in your own life.
Learn more about Joy Finders here.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel