Miracle Moment®
“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
To all the people you can
As long as you ever can.”
Great Non Profits
A Message from Founder/Executive Director, Cynthia Brian
For twelve consecutive years, ever since the inception of Great Non Profits, Be the Star You Are!® has been honored as a Top Non Profit by Great Non Profits and Candid, formerly known as Guidestar. We don’t take this award lightly.
The volunteers work diligently to consistently provide the highest level of service to the programs we provide and the outreach we serve. Teen radio hosts, Book Reviewers, Researchers, Content Providers, Event Volunteers, Disaster Relief Workers, Social Media Ambassadors, Book Review Director, Kindness Coordinator, and many others from around the world show up to provide their talent, skills, time, and efforts. At Be the Star You Are!®, we truly care about the development and empowerment of our volunteers as much as the people we serve. Teen volunteers indicate that their involvement with Be the Star You Are!® has played a pivotal role in their positive development and growth. As the Executive Director, I am proud of our volunteers and the work we all do to make our world a more kind and inclusive place.
And we do all of this through individual and personal donations and a 100% volunteer staff, including myself. We don’t receive state or federal funding. We depend on YOU!
We are grateful to the donors, sponsors, and supporters who have contributed financially to our mission of empowering and encouraging women, families, and youth. Thank you, thank you!
As we say goodbye to 2022 and welcome 2023, we extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who has been part of our galaxy. We look forward to continuing the journey together.
If you want an end-of-year tax-deduction, or just want to make a final donation, you can easily do that online through PAYPAL Giving Fund, with no fees. DONATE here: https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504
Checks can be sent to Be the Star You Are!®, PO Box 376, Moraga, Ca. 94556
At the end of this newsletter, you can read a summary of a few of the accomplishments of this grassroots, all-volunteer charity and other ways you can help.
From all of us, to you and your families, continue shining.
May 2023 be the best year ever!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
With gratitude,
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
Turning over a new leaf
by Shubham Acharya
Another year has gone by, and a new one approaches. Starting from Christmas through the new year, the air is filled with such a festive feeling and a renewed sense of hope that it is almost tangible. The new year presents a strange paradox, on the one hand, we are elated for the fresh chance we are given, followed by disappointment when we inevitably fail to fulfil the laundry list of new year’s resolutions we undertake. So, this new year, let’s keep things simple and instead of making a list, let’s follow the tagline, “A little something for me and a little something for you.” Do something for yourself—take a trip you’ve always wanted to take, buy a gadget you’ve always wanted to buy (within reason, of course!)—as a reward for surviving the previous year, and do something for someone less fortunate than you, whether economically or in terms of family: spend some time with them, lend a sympathetic ear to their problems, as little and as much as you can to alleviate some of their pain and return some of your festive happiness and hope. Lastly, I wish you a very happy and prosperous new year 2023!
Shubham Acharya is an IT professional, passionate about history and antiques living and working in India. He loves reading books and collecting antique coins. As a Be the Star You Are!® volunteer in Mumbai, he believes strongly in women’s empowerment and children’s literacy. Shubbam writes: “My mother was a teacher in a government sponsored school in one of the poorest localities in my area, so I grew up very aware of the importance of education and literacy in changing people’s lives. Having said this, I fell in love with the Be the Star You are!® motto ‘To be a leader, you must be a READER’.”
Bragging Rights!
With no paid staff and all volunteers, since receiving our 501c3 status in 1999, Be the Star You Are! has:
Served 555,927 individuals and families
Donated to 118 organizations
Logged 670,999 volunteer hours and growing
Distributed $2.1 million plus in resources
Broadcast 2200 unique hours of positive programming through radio broadcasts.
Published 5 signature award-winning books, Be the Star You Are!® 99 Gifts, Be the Star You Are!® for Teens, Be the Star You Are!® Millennials to Boomers, No Barnyard Bullies, and Miracle Moments®,
Written and published over 2530 book reviews in collaboration with The Reading Tuband Express Yourself!™ Creative Community.
Interviewed over 2500 authors, experts, and celebrities.
Honored by the California Assembly for 20 years of community service.
Nominated for the California Governor’s and First Lady’s Service Awards
Honored with five-star ratings as a Top Rated Non-Profit by GuideStar and Great Non Profits for the Women’s Empowerment, Arts and Culture, and the Arts Appreciation Campaigns since 2010.
Be the Star You Are!® encourages and supports its volunteers to GROW people.
READ the congratulation letter from California Assemblywoman Catherine Baker
READ recognition letter from Assembly California Legislature Assemblymember, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
3 original films by volunteers accepted into International Earth Gratitude Festival: Cynthia Brian, Ruhani Chhabra, Sharanya Roy
Do You Want to Help? Here are lots of ways to make a difference.
- Send a tax-deductible contribution or offer a monetary tribute or memorial for a loved one.
- BUY an unique NFT
- Buy our books by the case or as singles through our office
- Buy our “Read, Lead, Succeed!” T-Shirts to give as gifts.
- Buy a unique NFT to hold, share, or sell.
- Make $100 donation and receive our 3 signature books
- Donate air miles
- Sponsor or advertise on our radio programs
- Donate goods that can be auctioned off at an event
- Make BTSYA a beneficiary of your UNITED WAY donation
- Sponsor an event making the charitable beneficiary
- Buy or Sell on eBay through GivingWorks
- Shop online at thousands of stores by using one of these sites that give back:
- #Giving Tuesday PayPal adds 1%, Donate at https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504
- Volunteer time
- Become a Benefactor
- Establish A Charitable Giving Account with an Investment Firm in the name of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3
- Donate rent money for our storage space
Please join our Galaxy of Stars and support BE THE STAR YOU ARE!® with your contributions and/or ask your company to be on our team. Visit our creative community at http://www.BTSYA.org for book reviews, news items, newsletters, and press pass clips.
SEND CHECKS TO:
BE THE STAR YOU ARE!®
PO Box 376,
Moraga, California 94556
Make a donation via Paypal Giving Fund
View a partial list of beneficiaries we have served.
All donations are tax-deductible according to law. A tax receipt will be emailed to you for all donations over $25.00.
Thank you again for being stars in our universe. Enjoy a happy, healthy, blessed New Year! And remember to do all the good possible, always!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
