PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Countless drivers honked their horns across Plymouth Wednesday as dozens of people spread positivity and encouragement for the 9th annual Sunshine on the Street.
The event lasts for 30 minutes and takes place on the second Wednesday of March.
"Favorite part is just all the screaming and the laughing and smiling other people that you meet," Leah Ruh said while donning a sun costume.
Ruh and her coworkers at Focus Physical Therapy were among the crowds holding signs of encouragement and cheering anyone who passed by.
"I smile just as much as they do," Ruh said.
Chiro-Health Chiropractic Care Center started it all.
"The first year we started thinking about this it was super cold. We just needed a lot of joy and that just kind of snowballed," Rhona Kuhlow said.
Kuhlow was the one who advocated getting Sunshine on the Street going. Her boss Dr. Cindy Munson got on board.
"As a chiropractic office, we focus on overall health and well-being of our patients and our overall community," Munson said. "With the winter we want to use this as a time to focus on how much our mental health plays a role in our physical well-being."
Their team goes outside during the lunch hour to be a ray of light. Each worker holds a sign of encouragement while waving and cheering at their neighbors.
One sign read, "You're amazing." Another said, "You are loved."
"You just never know how much one little thing could help set someone's day on a different track," Munson said.
Sunshine on the Street started was something a few coworkers at Chiro-Health did, but over the years it has touched people across the city.
"Every year it's bigger and bigger. The schools participate now and so many businesses," Munson explained.
"I just hope that it kind of sinks in that every person matters. It doesn't matter who you are or who you're not or who you want to be or who you think you're gonna be, but you matter right now at this moment," Kuhlow pressed.
