A Letter from the Executive Director

As a community, we are living through a historic moment together. I want you to be encouraged that Stars as an organization will continue to live by our mission – a community that affirms, equips, and emboldens young people to pursue a life of purpose, service, and meaning.  As we pivot to change the way we live out this mission today, I want to share how we use our values to make decisions here at Stars. 

Now, more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of interdependence. We value community deeply and we recognize that we all need each other in this moment.  We believe we have a unique chance here to see our Stars community shine and support one another. In this historic health crisis, the most vulnerable are the elderly, immuno-compromised, and those without reliable access to running water like our homeless neighbors.  Our Stars families, volunteers, staff, and partners have incredible resources and resilience – so how do we as a whole community shift to care for the most vulnerable around us? 

While we postpone after school programming at Stars for the time being, we want to continue our work to best serve our community – and one way is through advocacy.  Stars will serve as advocates for those who are suffering the economic impacts of lost wages and jobs.  Stars’ priority is to collaborate with our community and redistribute resources, especially to the most vulnerable during this crisis.

Everything we do is relationship-based, so how do we continue to build strong relationships here at Stars in the time of social distancing?  How can we keep relationships strong virtually? We aim to continue to cultivate our relationships with love and kindness.

Lastly, and most important, our faith motivates us to serve as Jesus served – sacrificially and encouraging others in the hope that comes from God’s presence in our world.  He is at work and we are simply joining him in that work!

Here’s how our Response Team is following these values to mobilize our Stars staff: 

• We are checking in with all our Stars families and over 200 volunteers, using a 17 question checklist to determine resources and needs – we are already hearing the need for non-perishable food items, toilet paper, and feminine products
• Building a system to connect all homes that have vulnerable members (seniors, immunocompromised) with the supplies and resources they need 
• Working on online platform(s) for tutoring, connecting volunteers and students – we are piloting online groups this week
• Connecting with area churches to procure supplies 
• Supporting families with technical support, including checking out our program laptops to families that may not have one in the home

Please pray for our team as we work to survey our community and get systems up and running!  We have an incredible staff and their spirits are high and they are up to the task. We will continue to update you with ways you can participate in our efforts.  

Prayerfully,