About Us
UP-STAND is a movement to improve accessibility and make life easier for pregnant women and families by building a more inclusive culture that translates to stronger communities. We advocate for families, pushing for necessary, often overdue changes such as greater accessibility in public transportation. We also help businesses and organizations to expand their inclusivity towards families, boosting growth, reputation, and profitability.
If you have children or know someone who does, you probably know how accustomed we’ve become to navigating the challenges of family living in our culture. We’re constantly pivoting to adapt—eating only at restaurants that have changing tables, avoiding shops where we can’t bring strollers, planning our days around a breast-pumping schedule, leaving earlier for our morning commute hoping to finally get a seat in public transportation. And we do all of this automatically, without really stopping to think, hey, maybe it doesn’t have to be this way.
We all have the power to work towards creating a culture where family life is supported and valued. Imagine a local business that says you’re welcome here by providing stroller parking, lactation spaces, toys, and a clean family bathroom with a baby seat, changing table, diapers, and wipes. It sounds like a luxury, but it shouldn’t be! Our families are a big part of our community, and they should feel welcomed exactly as they are, no matter their stage of life.
UP-STAND’s mission is a win-win for both families and businesses. Families shop more, eat out more, and attend more events where they’ve been made to feel welcome, not only as a sign of mutual support but also because it’s simply more enjoyable and accessible to them. Businesses also thrive under this model. Even when we take our mission of doing better for families out of the equation, the bottom line is that being more inclusive of pregnant women and families makes businesses significantly more profitable.
Want to see some of our successes? Check out our blog where we show off our clients’ and customers’ stories as they’ve supported our mission!
What We Do For Businesses
We offer consulting services, workshops, event accommodation, and products to businesses and organizations that want to make themselves more accessible, inclusive, and profitable. We’re proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the incredible clients below.
What We Do For Families
UP-STAND got its start by taking one simple step towards greater accessibility for pregnant women and families: a pin for pregnant women to wear in public transportation so that they could get a seat without having to ask. We also developed a pin for offering one’s seat, as we realize that most commuters have either tuned out during the ride or are afraid of offending someone by assuming she’s pregnant.
In a study of 115 New York City subway rides, we’ve found our pregnancy pin to have a 97% success rate in getting a seat when displayed in a visible position, like a shirt or jacket. It has a 94% success rate all around, for example when worn anywhere on one’s clothes, backpack, or handbag. (Who says New Yorkers are uncaring?)
UP-STAND has grown so much from just selling pins. We advocate for families every day by collaborating with city officials, businesses, and organizations to improve accessibility and make positive changes in our communities.