In this episode of The NonProfit Nook, host Wendy Kidd interviews Niki and Bob Calabrese, the Executive Director and Tech Director of Dallas Flashers, respectively. The Dallas Flashers is a nonprofit organization that organizes flash mobs to bring joy and mental health benefits to its participants and audiences. Niki shares insights on the diverse group of individuals involved in the flash mobs and how the organization unexpectedly ventured into the mental health sector. Bob discusses his technical role in the organization. The podcast also delves into the success stories of participants, the importance of community involvement, and the various non-dancing roles that help support the flash mobs. The episode concludes with a call for more support and volunteers to help the Dallas Flashers continue their mission of spreading joy through dance.

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00:00 Introduction to the NonProfit Nook

01:40 Meet Nikki Calabrese: A Lifetime of Service

02:57 Introducing Bob Calabrese: The Musical Tech Director

04:37 The Birth of Dallas Flashers

06:07 Flash Mob 101: What and How

11:52 Leadership and Vision: The Dream Session

19:00 Who Should Join Dallas Flashers?

22:05 The Joy of Flash Mobs

22:28 Mental Health Benefits

25:39 Success Stories

29:16 Personal Growth and Challenges

31:00 Favorite Aspects of the Group

35:49 Support and Participation

38:18 How to Get Involved

40:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Mentioned in this episode:

Enji

Flodesk

it's really cool to see all of these different needs being met.

2

I mean, we also have, like, we have

men and women who come out that are

3

going through the transition from like

a rough divorce and they just need

4

some peace and some fun in their life.

5

And so they come out on the other

end with something fun to do

6

and find, they find joy in that.

7

Um, I've gotten a lot of.

8

The board really has gotten

a lot of feedback from these

9

people saying, I need this group.

10

This group is incredible

for my mental health.

11

I didn't, and we didn't know we

were getting into that journey.

12

We thought we were just doing this silly

little dance group and then we were

13

gonna like have some fun and like, you

know, surprise some people in the public.

14

It was probably about a year

ago now that I go, we are in

15

the mental health industry.

16

Wendy: Welcome to The NonProfit

Nook, the podcast for nonprofit

17

leaders, board members, and community

change makers who want to build

18

stronger, smarter organizations.

19

I'm your host, Wendy Kidd, a longtime

business owner and nonprofit leader,

20

and I'm here to bring you real talk,

real tools and real stories to help

21

you thrive in the nonprofit world.

22

I'll be talking with

local nonprofit leaders.

23

Community change makers and experts

in everything from board development

24

to fundraising and digital tools,

sharing real stories and simple

25

strategies you can actually use,

because running a nonprofit is hard,

26

but you don't have to do it alone.

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Let's get started.

28

Hi everyone.

29

Welcome back to The NonProfit Nook.

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Today I am thrilled to welcome

Nikki Calabrese, the executive

31

director of Dallas Flashers, and

someone who's been finding creative

32

ways to serve and shine in her

community practically her whole life.

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Nikki's been volunteering for over 13

years, giving her time to organizations

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ranging from free health clinics

and the police department to her

35

church and other community causes.

36

But truth be told, her entrepreneurial

spirits started even earlier when

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she was just eight years old.

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She launched her first business an on

the go lunch company called On a Roll.

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she and her parents would

make and sell subs, chips, and

40

sodas to local dealerships.

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That early spark of creativity

only grew over the years.

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She's built several ventures from

Baby Cakes, a couture cupcakery,

43

to Souvenir, her family photography

business to an editing company, all

44

while pursuing a career in education

as a certified teacher and education

45

manager for Head Start in New York.

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Now as executive director of Dallas

Flashers, Nikki brings together that

47

same blend of innovation, compassion,

and hands-on experience to lead with

48

heart and inspire others to get involved.

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Welcome, Ms.

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Nikki.

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Dallas Flashers: Thank you.

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That was very

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Wendy: I try to be fancy for you

guys and, and I can't of course,

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miss your wonderful husband.

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Uh, we are joined by Bob

Calabrese, Nikki's husband,

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born in Buffalo, New York.

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Bob has been playing bass guitar since the

age of 12, as well as guitar and mandolin.

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Since then, he has recorded

six albums with his bands

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and two as a studio musician.

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He has won several music awards

and has played thousands of gigs.

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He has been in the automotive

industry for the last 20 years.

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For the last 10 years, he has been

with Ewing Automotive and Plano as

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their client relations director.

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He also serves as a music director

and mentor at his church and plays in

65

a nineties cover band called 90mph.

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His latest venture with the Dallas

Flashers adds tech director to his

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resume, a role he has served in the

last two years since its inception.

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Welcome, Bob.

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Dallas Flashers: Thank you.

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Happy to be here.

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She's even got the CAE She does.

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I

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Wendy: You I'm gonna go fancy if you give

me the option, so I'm gonna absolutely

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Dallas Flashers: the regular.

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All the regular people say Calabrese,

but you took it to another level.

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It it helps when you do this.

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When you say it.

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Yeah.

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Wendy: the gesture.

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I didn't even think about that.

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You guys are so impressive.

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I didn't know you did half the

things you did until you gave me

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your bios, which I just love so much.

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Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

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Mm-hmm.

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Yeah.

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Wendy: I to have you guys on

because of course, Dallas Flashers.

88

I love Dallas Flashers.

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Who doesn't love Dallas

Flashers once you hear about it.

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We had to tell people about this

joyful, joyful, compassion, um, filled

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that you have built and have just

exploded on the scene in McKinney.

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So I had to

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Dallas Flashers: Yeah,

it's been a good time.

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Thank you.

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Thanks for having us.

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Wendy: me how your organization got

started and when you got started.

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Dallas Flashers: So back in November

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online about let's do a flash mob.

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'cause personally I've always, I

grew up in the nineties and early two

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thousands and there were all those

viral videos that were coming out.

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It was really a popular thing, but.

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I never saw one.

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Like in real life I only saw

the videos on like MySpace,

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you know?

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And so,

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yeah, it was like always

someone else doing it.

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And so I never saw one.

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I never got invited to be in one.

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And I was like, you know, I'm getting old.

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I would like to make this happen.

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Um, so we got a little group

together and we attempted a.

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A test run, if you will,

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back in November of 23.

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And it went well, it went great.

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It also went horribly.

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Um, for a funny reason actually.

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We went to the Stone Briar Mall in Frisco.

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We were, we gathered up about, you know,

10 or 15 people just to see could we

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like put this together and actually get

people to show up and like, make it work.

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And, uh, we went up to the food court.

121

And we attempted to do what's

known as a freeze mob, which is a

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very simple form of a flash mob.

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Are you familiar with that?

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Should we describe what a, some

people don't know what a flash

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mob is at this day and age.

126

A flash mob is, um, it's when a, a.

127

A, a group of people get together and

they rehearse ahead of time and plan

128

a day and time to show up at a certain

place, usually a public place, and

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then they break into song or dance

or both, um, at the drop of a dime.

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And the whole reason is for the surprise

element for the public just to bring

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smiles to people's faces for the

allure, for the artistic expression.

132

And it's just all around

a good time for everybody.

133

So.

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That's what a flash mob is, specifically.

135

A freeze mob is when you show up,

there's no singing or dancing.

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You just simply on cue go into

a frozen motion like a statue.

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So it's not a frozen motion at all.

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It's not a motion at all.

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It's a frozen position.

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Um, and you just hold it.

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Wendy: Okay.

142

I've seen videos of these too, but I

didn't realize there was a different name.

143

That makes perfect sense.

144

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

145

So, um, we attempted this and the first

person went off, and what we didn't do

146

well, we learned quickly, is that when

you plan a mob, you need to be close

147

together or else nobody knows that you're

all related and doing the same thing.

148

Wendy: I could see that.

149

Dallas Flashers: And what happened

was the first person went, gave the

150

cue, which was a sneeze by the way.

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We did.

152

It was a sneeze and freeze.

153

She sneezed, she froze.

154

I sneezed.

155

I froze, and my choice of

freezing, unfortunately.

156

I chose to use my cup.

157

I had bought an iced tea in the

food court as like a prop to act

158

like a regular mall goer, and I

froze with the drink in my mouth,

159

and then the next person sneezed

and froze and so on and so forth.

160

But we were so spread out that nobody

saw that I was related to the first

161

person or the person behind me.

162

And unfortunately I

scared a lot of people.

163

I had, uh, some people come up to

me, some very concerned mall goers

164

thinking that I was having a stroke

and I really commit to character when

165

I'm given a role and I wouldn't break

it to tell them what was going on.

166

So they just kept like,

ma'am, ma'am, are you okay?

167

And I just kept frozen and so my

poor husband had to come and diffuse.

168

The problem and let them in on the fact

that we were, take a look around ladies.

169

We are doing a freeze mob right now.

170

And they were so, they were mad.

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Mad.

172

Yeah.

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They were so mad.

174

So they were so mad.

175

Yeah.

176

The, because we, they felt tricked.

177

I think they were.

178

'cause they were so concerned.

179

And here we are messing around

playing games in the mall instead

180

of, you know, being serious.

181

So

182

we learned like, okay, we

need to be closer together.

183

We quickly wrapped it back

up and went downstairs.

184

We did it again.

185

It went off without a hitch.

186

So

187

the time we left, we got two under

our belt and they went great.

188

But that's how it all started,

was back at the mall on a rainy

189

Saturday afternoon in November.

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So.

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Wendy: All

192

Dallas Flashers: And the rest is history.

193

We've done 21 mobs since

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Wendy: That's awesome.

195

In just two years.

196

Wow.

197

That's really fast.

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is.

199

Dallas Flashers: We're just

coming up on our anniversary.

200

Mm-hmm.

201

Wendy: that you could start a flash mob?

202

What made you want to do this instead

of just joining another nonprofit

203

that might do this or group?

204

I don't know of

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Dallas Flashers: There, there.

206

Exactly.

207

That's exactly why I had no idea

that anybody else was doing it.

208

And I, like I said, I kind of got sick of.

209

Not being in a flash mob.

210

So decided I'll make this happen.

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And we did.

212

Um, we got some people together, we

got some different talents together,

213

and I, I am not a dancer per se.

214

I like to dance.

215

S you know, spontaneously,

I like to dance at weddings.

216

I'll dance in the house.

217

I'll dance in public if you ask me to, but

I'm not, like, I've never been trained.

218

I didn't do dance as a little girl.

219

I don't have any kind of history in

dance whatsoever except, you know,

220

in college, at the club hanging out.

221

But besides that, I

don't have this history.

222

So we needed a choreographer and we

needed some people who understood.

223

Um.

224

It's how to teach people

how to dance, you know?

225

Um, but I've got a lot of strong

admin skills and so this sort

226

of group needs that balance.

227

My black and white and logical

thinking, my organization, my time

228

management, and all of those things

when you're doing something so

229

creative And so, um, expressive.

230

You need someone who's on the other

side of things, on the other side of the

231

spectrum who can hold down the details and

make sure things are planned and everybody

232

has the information that they need.

233

And so that's where I'm strong and I've

sought out the talent in our group.

234

We have so many talented, diverse

people in our group who do love to

235

dance and they have done it before.

236

And, um.

237

Together.

238

We come up with awesome

choreography and we teach it to

239

the group of people who shows up.

240

And it's beautiful.

241

It's, it's a great mix of people.

242

Mm-hmm.

243

So, I I

244

I, I like to say that Nikki has GSD after

her name, because she gets stuff done.

245

Oh, Um, so the, the, the fact,

the fact that they gave you the

246

g version of that abbreviation,

247

the, the fact that.

248

Wendy: to use the real version, you can.

249

Dallas Flashers: The fact that she, um,

kind of came up with this from scratch

250

and was able to organize, you know, large

groups of people into, you know, 21 mobs

251

at this point doesn't surprise me at all.

252

Wendy: Clearly

253

Dallas Flashers: yeah,

it's been really cool.

254

Yeah.

255

Wendy: stuff

256

Dallas Flashers: Yes, exactly.

257

Yeah,

258

Wendy: So is, is the leadership of your

group kind of the traditional format where

259

you have a board and you're the executive

director, obviously, and then you have all

260

these wonderful committees and whatnot?

261

Or is it really just more focused on

leadership that can help with the dances?

262

Dallas Flashers: Yes to both.

263

We are certainly growing

in our leadership.

264

Um, the, the way that we do things.

265

When we first started, I

didn't know what I was doing.

266

Um.

267

Bob gets roped into just about

everything I do one way or

268

another and, and vice versa.

269

Yeah.

270

And so his skillset lent

itself very well to what we do.

271

He's very talented in

technological things and audio.

272

And he's the one who set

up this whole microphone.

273

I don't, I would have no idea how to

set all this stuff up right now, but

274

he, he knows how to make sound work.

275

Yeah.

276

And so when you're, um, you know.

277

When you're about to blast a song

remotely in public, you need somebody

278

who can push the buttons right.

279

And make sure stuff goes

off without a hitch.

280

And this is the guy,

so, so he's on the team.

281

Um, we also have another board member.

282

Her name is Kat Reno, and she does

a phenomenal job helping me out,

283

making sure, uh, I know where I am

and what I'm supposed to be doing.

284

Um, so she's another

clipboard carrier like me.

285

Yeah.

286

We like to call ourselves

the, the clipboard ladies.

287

And, um, she is a another

GSD type personality.

288

Besides that.

289

We don't have anybody officially,

um, titled, if you will.

290

And so, uh, we recently started

something called the Vision Commission,

291

and this is really fun in my opinion.

292

We just started, we literally just

had our first meeting a couple of

293

weeks ago and, uh, it was born out

of, we did for the second year.

294

Now in 2024.

295

And in 2025, we put together what we

call Dream Session, and that's when we

296

invite all of our members into one room.

297

For a couple of hours.

298

We set them up sort of, um, if you're

familiar with like centers in a, in a

299

elementary classroom, we've got a center

for what we call the money center and

300

we call the next one Mobs and we've got

five or six recruitments different Yeah.

301

Uh, titles of the centers.

302

And they, in a fun way, we make this fun.

303

This sounds, I'm giving a very.

304

Basic description of it, but we have

them sort of cycle through the centers

305

as small groups, three or four people in

a group, and their job is to just dump

306

every idea that they've ever thought

of that they can think of in the next

307

five minutes and put sticky notes on

these boards, and then process to the

308

next station into do the same thing.

309

So over the course of 30 to 45 minutes.

310

We came up with the first time, 133 ideas,

and this time we came up with 167 ideas.

311

And what it does is it allows

the membership to become

312

part of the leadership.

313

Um, it allows them to fill us in on

who their connections are and where

314

do they see us going, and what are

some of the ideas that they have.

315

So it's not just this top down.

316

Model.

317

Um, I truly believe that this team

effort is why we're successful.

318

And so I bring them in sort of as

shareholders to kind of help guide us.

319

And so from that dream session,

we thought, you know what?

320

Last year was great.

321

We got 133 ideas, and I believe I I,

with the help of many other people,

322

um, think we brought to life 34, 30

something, six or 37, like somewhere

323

in the high thirties of the ideas.

324

Well, wouldn't it be great if this year

with 166 ideas we could come up with,

325

or we could, we could, uh, achieve 50 or

60 of them by giving it to a committee.

326

So that's what we did.

327

Instead of, you know, Nikki taking

care of and delegating, uh, what

328

gets done off of the list, we have

installed this vision commission.

329

And their job is to take a

look at all of these ideas.

330

Um, we came up with, uh, along with the

board, we came up with the low hanging

331

fruit, if you will, the ones that would

be the easiest to achieve, first of

332

all, just to get some forward momentum.

333

And then we're gonna have, sort of

in a project style, we're gonna come

334

up with what are the next things

we're gonna work on as a group.

335

And there'll be things I'll grab off the

tree and do myself because it's more of an

336

elect, executive director type of an idea.

337

But there's gonna be a ton of things

that they're gonna be able to do

338

on their own individually and as a

committee that's going to allow them

339

to have more, um, like I said, more

ownership and just more skin in the game.

340

And, um, they're embracing it.

341

Everybody loves the idea.

342

So we're gonna go with that

model and see what comes of that.

343

And maybe eventually we'll get some more

committees that get born out of that.

344

We're, we're running pretty thin.

345

We're running this pretty big show

on a pretty thin leadership scale, so

346

someday it might be bigger, but, uh,

347

now, no.

348

Wendy: just gonna tell you this now.

349

I know you've sent me a video or I

saw it on your Facebook or something

350

where you guys were doing this

351

Dallas Flashers: Oh yeah.

352

Wendy: understand it like I kind of did.

353

But your explanation of it,

I'm like, this is genius.

354

'cause this is such a great way

to get feedback from your group,

355

people that you are serving.

356

Dallas Flashers: Exactly.

357

Mm-hmm.

358

Wendy: the ideas and the experience

of others, especially because then

359

you can turn back around and say,

Hey, can somebody help me with this?

360

Who came up with this idea?

361

'cause this is genius.

362

I, I am, love this.

363

I think other people should do this too.

364

I think it would break up a little

bit of the monotony of gathering

365

ideas for strategic planning.

366

So kudos girl.

367

I mean,

368

Dallas Flashers: thanks.

369

Wendy: but it's amazing.

370

Dallas Flashers: Well, we were

starting off with a, a fee, a survey.

371

I would give a survey out every time

after we finished a mob, just so I could

372

be like, how can we make this better?

373

But you know, if you get a

mob of 30 people, you get 10

374

people who fill out the form.

375

It is not that in depth of questions.

376

'cause I try to make it accessible so

they can achieve it in 30, 60 seconds.

377

Um, not take up too much time so you

don't get a lot of depth and then

378

you give them two hours and you give

them Chick-fil-A sponsors you and you

379

get Target to sponsor your snacks.

380

Well now we're talking about some real

serious ideas that can come of that.

381

So.

382

Wendy: it actually kind of curtails the,

um, should I put this in a nice way?

383

The meeting absorption of ideas.

384

When you sit down and you have

these conversations and everybody

385

feels like they need to hash it out.

386

think

387

where you can collect their ideas

without having to have discussion

388

Dallas Flashers: exactly.

389

Yes.

390

Yeah.

391

There's, there's no

Yeah, no hashing at all.

392

And there there's, there are no nos.

393

There's no bad ideas.

394

Yeah.

395

You come up with an idea, you put it

on the board because that idea might

396

spark another idea, which sparks another

idea, which is the idea that we need.

397

Wendy: fantastic.

398

Okay, cool.

399

Well, so tell me

400

Dallas Flashers: You should

come to the next one.

401

Wendy: I'm just telling you

right now, I'm going to be there.

402

It's gonna be

403

Dallas Flashers: Okay.

404

Sounds good.

405

Wendy: who should join your group,

because it sounds like you have a lot

406

of people, 'cause you've had 21 of

407

Dallas Flashers: Oh yes.

408

Wendy: What does that kind of look like?

409

Dallas Flashers: Okay.

410

Everybody should join.

411

And when I say that I am not, I'm

not saying that as the executive

412

director, as a proud person being

like, oh, everybody should come.

413

This is great.

414

Literally, I can't think of a

person this group doesn't serve.

415

Is is the truth?

416

The diversity that I've seen just

come naturally, this organic.

417

Um, all of these people who are coming

together from different walks of life

418

to completely different industries.

419

I can't even begin to tell you the di the

diversity of people who come to dance with

420

us because there are career paths and all,

all the things that they do are just on

421

this spectrum that I, it makes me scratch

my head like, how did we all end up in the

422

same room wanting to do the same thing?

423

It's insane and it's also so beautiful.

424

I love it.

425

Everyone's looking for something

joyful to do and this is it.

426

So we get a lot of people who

are like, oh, you don't want me.

427

I don't know how to dance.

428

Oh no, we definitely want you because

we don't want this to look professional.

429

I mean, we're not out

there trying to look messy.

430

We do a really good job of teaching

people the routines and making sure

431

everybody knows timing and spacing and

where they're supposed to be, and keeping

432

it simple so that anyone can do it.

433

Yeah, it's accessible, but.

434

I don't want this to look

like a performance group.

435

I don't want this to look like we've

been, you know, in a dance troupe and

436

taking dance lessons for all of our life.

437

I want it to look homegrown.

438

I want it to look like someone in

the crowd who thinks it looks fun, is

439

comfortable jumping in and joining us, and

that's the goal every time, to be honest.

440

The underlying goal is how many

people can we get to join us?

441

So if we're all polished and perfect.

442

That's not great.

443

So we want those people who

are like, eh, try and teach me.

444

See if you can do it.

445

We like the challenge, and I

don't know that we've ever lost

446

anybody because they didn't feel

like the choreo was accessible.

447

So I get.

448

I get a lot of moms, a lot of the

moms out there who, especially the

449

moms who've been momming for a while

and maybe a little piece of their

450

identity has gone away on pause.

451

Um, we see a lot of those ladies

coming out and taking part in

452

something that's completely separate

from anything their family does.

453

Not because they don't love their family,

but because everybody needs a break

454

from what they do 24 hours a day, right?

455

And so they'll come out, they'll

enjoy themselves for a couple

456

of hours during practice.

457

They'll come to the mob, they'll

do something exhilarating,

458

and then they go home happier.

459

They go home with more spirit.

460

Um, we also get families who are just

looking for some really good, clean fun.

461

There's, there's no droop.

462

There's no jerks in our group, like.

463

Everything that we do is on the up and up.

464

There's no drama.

465

I've not run into any gossip.

466

Like everyone's really fun.

467

It is incredible.

468

Yeah.

469

It turns out that if you wanna do

a flash mob, you are a top-notch

470

Wendy: I love that.

471

Dallas Flashers: Just,

472

Wendy: What a great litmus test.

473

Dallas Flashers: I, I,

474

yeah.

475

Um, so those of you out there

who don't wanna do a flash

476

mob, we're looking at you,

477

Wendy: judging

478

Dallas Flashers: but yeah.

479

We're judging you, we know better.

480

But, but it's really cool to see all

of these different needs being met.

481

I mean, we also have, like, we have

men and women who come out that are

482

going through the transition from like

a rough divorce and they just need

483

some peace and some fun in their life.

484

And so they come out on the other

end with something fun to do

485

and find, they find joy in that.

486

Um, I've gotten a lot of.

487

The board really has gotten

a lot of feedback from these

488

people saying, I need this group.

489

This group is incredible

for my mental health.

490

I didn't, and we didn't know we

were getting into that journey.

491

We thought we were just doing this silly

little dance group and then we were

492

gonna like have some fun and like, you

know, surprise some people in the public.

493

It was probably about a year

ago now that I go, we are in

494

the mental health industry.

495

I had no clue.

496

Wendy: first I was like, oh,

she's cute, but now I'm like,

497

Dallas Flashers: Yes.

498

Wendy: this a real

499

Dallas Flashers: Same.

500

Wendy: it

501

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

502

Wendy: is.

503

a time when we are so di

divisive right now, right.

504

It

505

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

506

Yes.

507

Wendy: but who couldn't just come and

enjoy some music and have a good time

508

Dallas Flashers: Mm-hmm.

509

Wendy: for the Yes.

510

Dallas Flashers: Because we don't get into

politics and we don't get into religion,

511

and we don't get into any of that stuff.

512

It's just everyone's

here and there's kids.

513

We have tons of kids who participate by

themselves and with their family members.

514

So everyone just knows to keep it clean.

515

Mm-hmm.

516

And so every, there's no, yeah, it's,

it's a really good time because of that.

517

Um, but yeah, I mean, there's really, I

can't think of, I can't think of anybody

518

who can't be served in this group.

519

And who can't serve in this group

because it goes both ways truly.

520

Wendy: does.

521

And we all, as humans benefit

when we serve others, we

522

Dallas Flashers: Mm-hmm.

523

Wendy: ourselves too, right?

524

Dallas Flashers: Yeah, absolutely.

525

If you're doing it right, and, and

really we have all different abilities.

526

There are people in our group who

come from all different walks of

527

life, like I was saying earlier.

528

Um, all different abilities.

529

And we haven't found anybody who

wants to be in our group that we

530

haven't been able to accommodate.

531

Okay.

532

Um, because that's the mission.

533

We want everyone who wants to be

in a flash mob to be in a flash

534

mob, and we will make it happen.

535

We will, um, we'll figure

out a way to make it work.

536

Our, our youngest dancer.

537

Yeah.

538

Well, so Nick Nikki's rule is

if you're smiling, you're right.

539

So as long as you're up there smiling and

having a good time, you're, you're right.

540

Um, our youngest dancer is six six and our

541

Wendy: Wow.

542

80 years of joy.

543

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

544

And we, yeah.

545

Yeah.

546

Yeah.

547

I mean, we have people with limited

mobility, people who have limited

548

hearing, people who have limited sight.

549

I mean, there's, there's, there's

all sorts of different people

550

in our group, and everyone just

jumps in and supports them.

551

I don't have to say, Hey, can you make

sure she knows, blah, blah, blah, or Can

552

you make sure he's turn, I don't have to

do any of that, because we all, mm-hmm.

553

I, I, I turn around and she's helping

him, and he's helping her, and it's.

554

It's just beautiful.

555

Wendy: so tell me, 'cause I always ask

this question, I always ask people tell me

556

some of their success stories, and I feel

like there's a couple here that you keep

557

alluding to but you haven't gotten to yet.

558

So tell me your success stories.

559

What are your favorite ones?

560

Dallas Flashers: um,

561

we have a dancer who came to me, oh

562

could tell she knew what she was doing.

563

And I, I remember thinking to

myself during practice, like,

564

where did this lady come from?

565

Because usually we were pretty new

at that time and uh, it was usually

566

like word of mouth that people were

hearing about us and, and she didn't

567

come connected to anybody, so she

just showed up from a Facebook group.

568

And so I thought that

was kind of brave, right?

569

And she said after practice she came

up to me and she said, I just want

570

you to know I've been watching you.

571

And I am like, oh, okay.

572

Wendy: You or a bad thing, right?

573

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

574

And I could tell she was a fellow

Italian too, so I was like, uhoh,

575

uh, she goes, she said, um,

I've been watching you, I've

576

been lurking for a while.

577

I wanted to make sure you

weren't like human traffickers.

578

And, um, that you guys were

like, serious about this.

579

I'm like, we're serious and

we don't human traffic anyone.

580

And um.

581

Yes, she said.

582

So I've just been watching in

the group to see how things

583

went, and I was really impressed.

584

I could see you, you put a lot of

time and commitment into what you

585

guys do, and, and I do that too.

586

Um, I just didn't wanna mess around with,

you know, something that was flimsy.

587

She said, I can't believe, like,

I can't believe what you're able

588

to pull off in an hour, the amount

of organization that you have.

589

So she just went on and on

about how she was so impressed.

590

Well, she went on to dance.

591

Um, that one practice was

serving two separate mobs.

592

We were doing a back-to-back,

um, Cinco de Mayo mob.

593

And, um, after she completed both mobs,

she, um, came up to me and she said, I

594

can't tell you how much this group has

impacted my ability to be mentally stable.

595

You know, she's, she's just a

normal lady who does a lot of stuff.

596

And she said, when I, when I leave

my house excited to come here.

597

My husband, it, it's

almost like, you know.

598

He, they're sad to see her go,

but they know when she comes home,

599

she's going to be so much happier.

600

And so, um, it's like this bittersweet

thing for the her family to, to

601

miss, like, to be missing her, but

also to know what mommy comes home.

602

Like she's gonna be in a better mood.

603

She's gonna have more, more, um, with the

exercise, she's gonna have a little bit

604

more stamina and like all the things that

she can do her job at home better now.

605

And so she said, I can't, I can't

tell you how much I'm so thankful

606

for this group and I'm never leaving.

607

I'm like, please don't.

608

Yeah.

609

So when you hear stuff like that,

that's when you start to consider,

610

like, I don't think I had used the words

mental health industry when she TA was

611

talking to me about this back in May.

612

It took me a few months before a few more

people came forward similarly and kind

613

of came out of, um, you know, I've been

dealing with cancer, I've been dealing

614

with divorce, I've been dealing just.

615

I don't wanna say everyday things

'cause those things are, are a

616

little bit more outstanding than

ev than common everyday things.

617

But we are all dealing

with something like that.

618

And I just, I had no idea that these,

these success stories were gonna be born

619

from something that I thought was a silly

little activity that we were doing and,

620

you know, probably wouldn't do very long.

621

And here we are just, I mean, I

don't see any end in the future, so.

622

Wendy: Wow.

623

Dallas Flashers: But at, at the same

time too, you also found a lot of

624

mental health benefits for yourself.

625

Yes, absolutely.

626

I, I have, um, always struggled with,

627

I was.

628

I was really depressed about, you

know, my life just wasn't unfolding

629

the way I had expected it to, and I was

looking for some more opportunities.

630

And so when this came up and I thought,

wow, I could really use my skillset

631

in a way that would be beneficial,

um, and was able to put that to work.

632

Boy does that, do some that

does something for you.

633

Um, and, and yeah, I, I just began to see.

634

This unfolding of who I really

was inside and not apologizing for

635

it, and people accepting who I was

for that and not rejecting that.

636

And so I was like, wow,

this is really cool.

637

This is for me and it's for you.

638

Um, so I felt the same way.

639

They do.

640

I just thought I was the

only one and I wasn't.

641

It's, it's still almost after every single

mob we come home and she is in disbelief.

642

She's like, I can't believe these people.

643

What, like what I do?

644

Yeah.

645

I, it just, it's, it's shocking to me

that I came up with something and I

646

continue doing this thing that people keep

signing up for and I'm like, they love it.

647

They really love it.

648

It's so cool.

649

Wendy: who doesn't wanna be

around you like I ever since

650

feel that way.

651

So

652

Dallas Flashers: You're sweet.

653

Wendy: you're a

654

Dallas Flashers: I agree.

655

Sometimes, sometimes my

sarcasm will scare you away.

656

But not you.

657

You're strong.

658

Wendy,

659

Wendy: sarcasm is my love language.

660

Yes, for sure.

661

For sure.

662

okay, so tell me, each of you, what's

your favorite thing to do in this group?

663

What's the favorite

thing about doing this?

664

Dallas Flashers: you wanna go first?

665

You want me to go first?

666

Yeah.

667

Uh, so I.

668

I think for me it's the preparation for,

uh, rehearsals and the, the mob itself.

669

I mean.

670

Uh, I guess it's everything that I do.

671

So, uh, a lot of times we'll do mashups,

um, or like splice a song together.

672

So getting to work, you know, in a couple

programs to, you know, figure out how

673

these songs are gonna mesh together is a

really fun challenge that I like doing.

674

And then I really like the events

that we do that are big enough

675

to where we're working with.

676

Uh, a sound guy.

677

Uh, I've had the opportunity

to work with a couple.

678

Uh, my favorite DJ Neil,

shout out for, for DJ Neil.

679

Oh, Celina.

680

Uh, from Salina.

681

Yeah.

682

Um, when you get a good sound guy or

like a good DJ and, you know, 'cause

683

we'll do meetings, we'll do meetings

with these guys ahead of time so they

684

know what to, uh, what to expect.

685

We'll send you the file, here's what

you need to say, and then I just go

686

there and hang out with them and make

sure that they press go on time and then

687

just get to watch this thing happen.

688

So I think that's the funnest part for me.

689

Wendy: part of that job.

690

Dallas Flashers: Yeah,

I got the easy part.

691

Wendy: go and watch.

692

Yeah.

693

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

694

When she asked me to be part of

the flash mob, I said I'll do

695

all the technical stuff in the

696

Wendy: Done

697

Dallas Flashers: Tries to

get him to dance, everybody.

698

And it does not work.

699

Nope.

700

I'll tell you a secret.

701

I'll tell you a secret.

702

You will find Bob Calabrese

dancing through at my house to

703

the mob choreo to the songs.

704

Yeah.

705

He will, but he won't do

it out outside the house.

706

So, no, I did get us,

707

but there, there is footage out

there too for Nikki's birthday.

708

A couple years ago I got us a

couple's hip hop dance lessons.

709

Oh yes.

710

So we, we did private lessons.

711

We did like six of 'em.

712

And you know what, guess

who was better at it?

713

Oh, come on.

714

Wendy: I love it.

715

So.

716

Dallas Flashers: I'll, I'll admit it.

717

I'll admit it.

718

He did a great job.

719

I, because that's, that's a perfect

example of what I said almost

720

first thing out the door was I

don't take dance lessons very well.

721

Like I'm not a dancer, I'm not a

sophisticated, he was loving following

722

the directions of this dance instructor.

723

Yeah.

724

I just wanted to freaking dance.

725

I had follow, follow rules.

726

I think you the rules also, I think

you were also watching me a lot.

727

Yeah, that's true.

728

Wendy: You're like the, the Phoebe

in the dance class of friends you

729

have you seen that show, that episode

730

Dallas Flashers: No.

731

Wendy: a

732

Dallas Flashers: Mm-hmm.

733

Wendy: where a dance?

734

Well, it's a dance exercise class,

but she's just doing her own thing.

735

She's not even paying attention to

what the instructor's telling her.

736

Dallas Flashers: Yeah.

737

I mean, I, I desperately want to follow

your directions, but my brain can't

738

do what I look, see in the mirror.

739

I just, I need to be just move.

740

Wendy: I can understand that.

741

Dallas Flashers: And he was nailing it.

742

He was nailing it.

743

Yeah.

744

So I was.

745

Wendy: favorite part of your job?

746

Um.

747

Dallas Flashers: Um, my initial

instinct is to say encouraging

748

people to be brave, but that's kind

of like a very generic response.

749

Specifically, I, uh, I think I

love crowning our mob masters.

750

Oh.

751

Every, every mob we have a, we

select one of our performers

752

who has committed fully and.

753

A lot of times above the rest.

754

Um, which is usually hard 'cause

we always have a, we always have

755

a big handful of people who are,

you know, going above and beyond.

756

Um, but you can only be mob master

once, so sometimes that helps me.

757

So, so I get to, I get the honor

of deciding, you know, who's gonna

758

get the award and we have this,

we should have brought the crown.

759

Yeah.

760

Could have started this

off with the Crown, Wendy.

761

Um.

762

It is totally handmade and ridiculous.

763

Yeah.

764

Uh, from like Joanne Fabric's

materials and be jeweled to the

765

nines, but you get the glory of

wearing this mob master crown for you.

766

Get a little, get a little plaque, 30 or

60 seconds and a plaque and, um, we just

767

get to honor you in front of the group.

768

And everyone's so encouraging

and supportive that.

769

They love guessing who it is.

770

'cause I'll, I'll go down and I'll give

clues until I'll go from very generic

771

to very specific to see if anybody

can guess along the way who it is.

772

And they love guessing.

773

And usually by the end,

everyone knows who it is.

774

Um, so that's a really fun part of the,

of the job because it just highlights

775

another human for being great, you know?

776

And they get to be in the

spotlight for a minute.

777

It's really cool.

778

Wendy: gonna have to send me a

picture of the mob crown because

779

that's gotta go on social media.

780

Dallas Flashers: Okay.

781

Okay,

782

Wendy: that's

783

Dallas Flashers: sure.

784

Wendy: Um, okay, so tell me what

do you wish people understood

785

more about your organization?

786

I.

787

Dallas Flashers: Oh, I wish that people

knew how much support we could use, um,

788

because like I, we both kind of pointed

out this isn't just a group for dancers.

789

Um, we need help in all different

aspects, as do most nonprofits out there.

790

It's not just.

791

Uh, you know, when you're a food

bank, you don't just need food.

792

You need volunteers to do this.

793

You need people to run and do that.

794

You need a whole, all sorts of skill

sets, and it's not different for us.

795

We, yeah, we need performers, we need

people willing to dance, but we also need

796

people who are willing to help with the

camera because I'll tell you, we've got

797

goblins in our cameras and I will set that

sucker up perfectly and walk away from it.

798

And it just does something different.

799

Um, or I have a husband come and cheer

his wife on, or a kid come and cheer

800

could stand right in front of it.

801

His hu Yeah.

802

And just stand right in front of it.

803

Cheering.

804

I'm like, no.

805

And so, uh, we need sign holders

people to hold the signs.

806

Yeah.

807

We need people to pull the wagons.

808

We need people to make the

phone calls and, and, you know,

809

do some of the committee work.

810

It's not just dancing.

811

It's, there's a lot that leads

up to the dancing a lot, almost.

812

It's almost like a wedding, Wendy.

813

I know you can relate to that, where you

do sometimes 12, 15 months of, of planning

814

it just, you just pour everything out into

the planning and it's over in eight hours.

815

Where this, you know, we

do like several months.

816

I, I need about six to eight weeks

before I can, um, execute a mob, pull

817

off a mob successfully, typically.

818

Uh, and it's over in four minutes, so.

819

It, it's over quickly.

820

So the, the buildup is really where

all the heavy lifting is being done.

821

And then nailing it is where the

group comes in, and then there's, you

822

know, still four or five days of work

left afterwards with follow up with

823

clients and posting things and editing

the videos and all of that stuff.

824

So we need, we need technical help and

we need, um, all sorts of different

825

things to make this machine run.

826

It's not just can you

dance or can you sing?

827

Um, and when people think flash

mobs, they think that's the only

828

way they could possibly contribute,

even if they love the idea, but they

829

don't consider themselves a dancer.

830

They could still contribute

to the flash mob and, and do

831

this really cool thing with us.

832

Wendy: can people know what

these opportunities are?

833

How do you promote these?

834

How can they reach out to you and,

and you up on this and help out?

835

Dallas Flashers: The easiest

way is, is we're on Link tree.

836

Um, that's where everything

kind of folds out of for us.

837

We've got, um, a few

different Facebook presences.

838

One of them is a public fan page group

that we highly encourage everybody to

839

follow so that they can see when our,

our finished products are put out.

840

Um, but we also have a private group where

you have to sign an NDA to be part of it

841

because that's where we give all of our.

842

Secret information.

843

It's where, um, you have to answer a

questionnaire to get and sign the NDA so

844

that when you join, you are ready to go.

845

You're ready to know where we're gonna

be, when we're gonna be there, because we

846

can't give that information to the public.

847

It just kind of depends on what

level of commitment you want.

848

Do you wanna just come, uh, do you wanna

see where we are and, and support us?

849

Well, then the fan page is for you.

850

Um.

851

But unfortunately, unless you

join the group, you're not gonna

852

know where we're gonna pop up.

853

So the fan page is really just

to follow what we're doing.

854

But we also have, um, a YouTube

channel where we post everything.

855

So you could always just search for the

Dallas Flashers in a, in an a YouTube

856

search, and you'll pull up, well, about

21 videos of us doing different mobs,

857

different places, different cities, um,

'cause we've gotten to partner with.

858

We've gotten to partner with

so many local community groups.

859

Yeah, it's been really a joy.

860

Um, so yeah, I, there's, there's

a bunch of different ways.

861

We don't currently have a website.

862

We, another way you could help us.

863

We need a website.

864

Um, we, we have the funds set, set

aside to be able to achieve that goal.

865

We just haven't been able to find anybody.

866

Um.

867

Who understands our vision well

enough to execute this for us.

868

So that's another easy grab.

869

And social media of course, gosh, who

doesn't need help with social media,

870

Wendy: sure.

871

All right, well cool.

872

Well, I will make sure to link to all

of that in the show notes so everyone

873

Dallas Flashers: Awesome.

874

Thank you.

875

Wendy: of Dallas Flashers and

bring some joy into their lives.

876

Dallas Flashers: Thank you.

877

Yes.

878

Wendy: guys coming on and talking more

about this and more about your process

879

so that people really understand

more about you and what your goals

880

are, but also how you work and how.

881

You really do serve

everyone in the community.

882

It's not just the fully able bodied

person who has experience in dance.

883

So

884

Dallas Flashers: Mm-hmm.

885

Wendy: much work you are doing.

886

Is there anything else that you want to

highlight before we sign off for the day?

887

I.

888

Dallas Flashers: I don't know.

889

Is there, I don't know.

890

I don't think so.

891

Wendy, I think you've

covered a lot of ground here.

892

Thank you so much for giving

us a, a platform to speak about

893

the Dallas Flashers because we,

we absolutely love this group.

894

Mm-hmm.

895

Wendy: thank you guys so much for being on

the podcast, and that's it for today guys.

896

Thanks for joining us

on The NonProfit Nook.

897

Thanks for listening

to The NonProfit Nook.

898

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899

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900

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901

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902

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903

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904

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905

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906

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