2024: Letter 2

Dear Five Star Life Supporters, 

Thank you for taking the time to read my first letter! I really enjoy this time of year because I get to both reflect and look toward the future, and I love sharing my thoughts with you. I know how busy you are this time of year and I’m so grateful to have heard from several of you who reached out and shared that you’ve already passed the letter along to your friends and family. That’s a big deal to us! At Five Star Life, we know how critical culture in education is and that’s why we focus so much on making sure that the culture between kids and education is as good as it can be. It’s why we put a real focus on kids and their mindsets. Why do we focus on this? Because when you instill the right values that shape a healthy mindset in a child, you’re not just changing one life—you’re equipping them to grow into adults who don’t change with culture, but positively change culture because they are rooted in good. 

‍Scientific research shows that the two most critical periods of human brain development occur during childhood. The first is from the ages of 2-7 and the other is adolescence, ages 12–17. This is why, 19 years ago, we launched Five Star Life to serve middle school students. It’s also why, 4 years ago, we launched the Early Learning Academy for young children. We work with a lot of kids who come from various backgrounds, have different home lives, and unique socio-economic realities. Let me tell you a transformation story about one of those unique boys who we’ll call Bobby, one of the tens of thousands of adolescent-aged kids we’ve worked with. 

‍I met Bobby last year after he made a violent threat online against his school. The school reported the threat to police, police passed it along to probation, and he and his mom were enrolled in our SNAP Leadership program. He came into SNAP carrying a burden a kid should never have to carry. A few years ago, during Covid, Bobby’s dad had a heart attack and tragically died right in front of him. His mom was now left to pick up the pieces and was forced to sell the house and relocate to a lower-income neighborhood. With no income, she had no other choice than to pull her kids out of private school and put them in the local public school. In an instant, his entire life changed. His dad, his home, and now his school were all gone. Things began to slowly but steadily improve for Bobby after joining Five Star. However, all of the positive momentum came to a screeching halt three weeks into our SNAP program when tragedy struck again and his mom was diagnosed with cancer and given 3-6 months to live. Can you imagine trying to process all of this as a teenage boy? 

‍Part of the six-week program includes a leadership day at Summit. The lesson that morning was about the “fight, flight, or freeze response” we have during conflict. While on the high ropes course, Bobby had a meltdown. His fear of heights caused him to freeze 40 feet in the air. He was panicked – yelling, screaming, and crying. I could feel the shame and embarrassment he felt as he made his way off the course and sat in tears. While talking after, he quietly said, “I just froze. During conflict I don’t fight or flee, I freeze. On the ropes course, I froze. When my dad had his heart attack, I froze.” Then, with tears in his eyes, he said, “My dad would still be alive if I didn’t freeze. Freezing is what I do! I killed my dad!” This was a profound moment of awareness for Bobby, for his mom, and for me. We quickly let him know that it was his father’s drinking habit that took his life. With that core lie exposed, he was now able to have a mindset shift, and he could put his father’s death in a healthier context.

‍The following week, Bobby and his mom came to SNAP different. His mom was beaming. She said, “Thank you! This was the breakthrough I’ve been hoping for. For three years he’s seen psychologists, therapists, and school counselors and this had never surfaced! We couldn’t figure out why he was so angry and distant. We had no idea he was blaming himself for his father’s death.” Five Star created the right environment for a shift in mindset and a weight that he was carrying to be lifted. But, what happens if Bobby doesn’t enroll in Five Star? He doesn’t have a breakthrough and continues in the same mindset. How long does he carry this burden before his threat to commit violence at his school is backed up with action? The truth is Five Star is literally saving lives! 

The other critical period in human brain development is ages 2-7. In the beginning of these “critical periods”, the number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) doubles, allowing kids to learn twice as fast. This is why early childhood education is so important and why we founded the Five Star Life Early Learning Academy (ELA). Let me share a quick story about a precious little boy named Simon who came to the ELA after being released from two other childcare centers in our area. He had such severe behavior problems that the parents decided to have a behavior specialist work with him. After three weeks of being at our academy, the specialist told Simon’s dad that she wouldn’t be coming back. She said, “I don’t know what you’re doing differently, but it is working, and you no longer need me.” Simon’s dad told her that the only thing that changed was the childcare center. We are proud to announce Simon successfully graduated from our academy and is currently thriving in kindergarten! Our Director, Coach Lori, always reminds me that we aren’t CHANGING kids’ mindsets at ELA, we are BUILDING healthy mindsets as the foundation.

As this year comes to a close, I hope that these two stories give you a little bit of insight as to the impact that Five Star Life makes in the lives of kids and families like Bobby and Simon. I hope it also gives you a deep sense of fulfillment for your support this past year. Thousands of kids have experienced incredible breakthroughs and healing during these critical stages of their brain development, but many more kids and families need the hope, connection, and tools Five Star Life provides. 

To reach more kids, we recently launched a new scholarship campaign with a goal of raising $1,000,000 this year to ensure that the Simon’s and Bobby’s of the world are NEVER turned away due to financial hardship. I’m thrilled to announce we’ve already raised close to $400,000! Please consider joining us towards this goal - 100% of your gift will go directly to our scholarship fund! This scholarship campaign will pave the way for kids to enroll in SNAP, the ELA, our new Innovative Learning program, and even our Five Star Sports programs. These programs don’t just transform kids’ mindsets, they give kids the opportunity to discover and develop their God-given gifts and talents, whether it’s related to sports, agriculture, art, trades, or technology, and much more. The days of sitting back wishing for a solution that would give kids hope, build their character, and truly educate them so they can discover their purpose is ending. Five Star Life now has (and continues to build) a whole universe of programs for kids to explore. Your gift provides access to this great universe of opportunity! Thank you in advance for considering your financial support of our scholarship campaign and for sharing this letter with those whom you love and respect. Thanks also for your belief in our mission. Together, WE WILL create even more stories of transformation in 2025! 

Gratefully yours, 

President, Five Star Life