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Spring Renewal MIRACLE MOMENT® "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." Anne Bradstreet 1612-1672, Poet A MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER/Cynthia Brian Spring brings a rebirth of excitement, expectation, and anticipation after more than a year of pandemic, lock-down, and isolation. Hopefully you have been vaccinated or will be soon as we climb out of this winter of despair. Be the Star You Are!® will be operating virtually until such time that the “all clear” is given. We continue to host our weekly radio broadcasts, book reviewers are reading, writing, and getting published through our literacy partner, The Reading Tub, and we continue our outreach programs to help Americans affected by the shut-downs and disasters. 2021 may become the 3rd driest year in California history. We need to be prepared. Other parts of the country will have floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. A resource for homeowners to save time and money preparing their homes for future weather-related natural disasters can be viewed here: https://www.reviews.com/insurance/homeowners/how-to-protect-your-home-from-extreme-weather/ The past year has been challenging especially for parents and children, especially in areas where schools were closed and everyone was subjected to online-learning. A big shout-out of gratitude to all the teachers who pivoted to work via ZOOM or other platforms to continue the education of our world’s young. We are happy to share a parent’s resource from safety.comon How to Talk to Your Kids About the News and Protect their Sense of Safety. A recent Safety.com survey reports that “More than three-fourths of parents claim at least one event in the past year has impacted their child(ren)’s sense of safety.” The survey found that kids were exposed to distressing topics in several ways. Despite the fact that TV, the internet, and other news access were the top sources causing fear, the survey also uncovered that 90% of parents with children under 18 are aware of the digital content their children are consuming. This guide can help parents manage these difficult conversations with a series of questions and resources included. You can view it here: https://www.safety.com/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-news-and-protect-their-sense-of-safety/ If you are a gardener, you have probably been battling weeds as I have in my landscape. You may enjoy reading about preparing your garden for spring here: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1504/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Weeds-weeds-and-more-weeds.html Finally, Be the Star You Are!® is extremely proud of our teen volunteer and Express Yourself! radio host, Diya Hituvalli, who developed a FREE app, KeepMeSafe, to keep women safe and has been recognized with awards both internationally and nationally. You can read more about her below and listen to the radio interview where she talks about her journey, motivation, and challenges in creating this app. https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/130853/meditations-for-the-soul-and-keepmesafe-app April is Global Volunteer Month. We invite you to get involved with Be the Star You Are!® or other charities that you believe in. Make sure to continue making donations, no matter how small, as charities can not function without the monetary contributions of those who are able to give. DONATE: https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504 Mother’s Day is around the corner so make a donation in honor of the great women who do so much for so many. Wishing you a healthy, happy springtime. Thank you for being part of our Be the Star You Are!® galaxy. Cynthia Brian Founder/Executive Director Be the Star You Are!® PO Box 376 Moraga, California 94556 Cynthia@BetheStarYouAre.org https://www.BetheStarYouAre.org http://www.BTSYA.org DONATE: https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504 CONGRATULATIONS to BE THE STAR YOU ARE! NAMED a 2021 TOP NONPROFIT Thanks to our volunteers, supporters, donors, and community Be the Star You Are!® is one of the first charities of 2021 to be named a TOP NON PROFIT. Congratulations to all,. Read reviews and witness what people are saying about BTSYA! https://greatnonprofits.org/org/be-the-star-you-are-inc Be the Star You Are!® has also earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar/Candid: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/94-3333882 TEEN DIYA HITUVALLI CREATES APP, KEEPMESAFE Be the Star You Are!® salutes our teen volunteer and Express Yourself!® radio reporter and host, Diya Hituvalli for developing an award-winning app. KeepMeSafe is a women's safety app that aims to prevent sexual assault through voice recognition and location tracking. With KeepMeSafe, users can trigger a voice-activated alarm to scare off attackers, send an emergency text to 911 with their location when they say the key word “Help”, anonymously report sexual assault to RAINN), America’s national sexual assault hotline, and browse resources to learn safety tips, self defense techniques, and more. It has received recognition as the Congressional App Challenge winner for District 19, a Technovation U.S. Semifinalist, and has been featured on ABC as well as several other stations nationally! Check it out on the App Store for free! www.keepmesafecorp.org Instagram: @keepmesafeapp The ABC7 Bay Area article and video: https://abc7.com/10502915/ UNEXPECTED JOY-A SWAN STORY An unexpected surprise came our way early Saturday morning when a pair of trumpeter swans appeared on the little lake behind our home. For more than thirty years, we’ve watched geese, ducks, and colorful birds appear out our window. Swans we saw in books. Before long, neighbors appeared lakeside, and wide-eyed children couldn’t comprehend what they were witnessing. Photos aimed at capturing this phenomenon could not totally grasp the feelings of this incredible happening. For almost an hour, we watched these amazing creatures glide across the water and eventually take flight. In doing a bit of research, we discovered this pair probably mated for life. In the 1930s, fewer than 100 trumpeter swans remained south of Canada. More recent efforts have focused on reintroducing the species to areas thought to be part of the former breeding range which includes Minnesota. In 2015, an estimated 17,000 trumpeter swans were spotted during the nesting season. In November and December, most swans that nest in the USA, go south to spend winters in milder climates, These majestic birds, which fly at speeds of 50-60 mph, stretch to six feet in length and weigh more than 25 pounds. Pairs are formed when they reach about three years old. Their young can swim when less than one day old but are not capable of flight for 3-4 months. The oldest known trumpeter swan is said to be a female who lived to be 32 years old in Wisconsin. Why did this elegant pair come to visit us and where did they go? That’s part of life’s mystery in never knowing what joys tomorrow might bring. Karen Kitchel who penned two chapters in the book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World, is the Kindness Coordinator volunteer with BTSYA. She serves meals to the homeless and is a volunteer teacher, writer, job coach, and mentor. (Photo by Larry Teckenbrock) www.scatteringkindness.com SHOPPING? We have suggestions for you to shop, save, and stay safe. Please use these web sites for all of your shopping essentials. 1. AmazonSmile donates .5% of purchases https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3333882 2. Discounted books at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shops/be_the_star_you_are_charity 3. Giving Assistant: Shop. Earn. Give! Use Giving Assistant to earn cash at 3500+ popular online stores :https://givingassistant.org/np#be-the-star-you-are-inc 4. Shop at over 1300 stores on IGIVE: http://www.iGive.com/BTSYA 5. Buy “Read, Lead, Succeed” black tanks and books at StarStyle® Store: http://www.starstylestore.net/ 6. Are you a gamer, lover of new software, or other digital content? Buy all of your favorites at Humble Bundle. http://ow.ly/cYs130iN6n4 REJOICE FOR SPRING! Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3PO Box 376 Moraga, California 94556 https://www.BetheStarYouare.org http://www.BTSYA.org EDU_TAINMENT WITH BE THE STAR YOU ARE! RADIO LIVE on Wednesdays from 4-5pm PT, be entertained, informed, amused, and educated on StarStyle-Be the Star You Are!. Then be inspired and motivated onSundays from 3-4pm PT, it's Express Yourself! Teen Radio with our Be the Star You Are! star teen hosts and reporters. You'll meet authors, actors, artists, activists, musicians, poets, scientists, educators, and other creatives. Enjoy our upbeat, authentic, and fun radio parties on the Voice America Network Empowerment Channel or wherever you like to listen. Visit https://www.StarStyleRadio.com for our line-up of guests. 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