About K50

Igniting the Spark Within

A Note from Linda

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Kids Five & Over is a nonprofit that has been fifty years in the making. That sounds like an uphill climb, but it’s actually a story that involves wonderful life experiences, a milestone birthday, and a great group of friends and family.  It goes like this:

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Nearly a year before my 50th birthday, I sat in the auditorium of the elementary school where I worked and watched students perform in the annual talent show. The event is called a talent show, but it’s really a big ol’ love fest. Audience members applaud, whistle, stomp their feet, and cheer loudly as they celebrate the bravery of the tiny silhouettes on the big stage. The acts include children who have had hundreds of hours of professional training prior to showcasing their routines and children whose training is homegrown. The haves and have-nots are often evident at the annual talent show, though that is never discussed. The talent show is about community. It’s about celebrating determination, commitment, and bravery. The talent level may vary from act to act, but the admiration from the audience remains the same.

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One year I watched a nine-year-old girl take the stage. Her homemade, one-of-a-kind dance was sandwiched between two professionally choreographed routines. She wore a dress that was too small and shoes too big. Near the middle of the routine, her left shoe fell off and she had to stop momentarily to wiggle it back on. As I watched her dance, I wondered if she had ever wanted to take dance lessons and wear fancy dance clothes, but knowing her family situation, I knew dance lessons and fancy clothes were not in her immediate future. When her routine ended, the audience erupted in applause. She beamed. Her bravery and resolve grew. My heart grew too.

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I kept the image of that nine-year-old in my mind for nearly a year trying to decide what to do with it. I had no doubt she would leap at the chance for dance lessons, but I wondered how a child of nine would know to ask for them, especially when life situations wouldn’t put them in her path. The challenge began to consume me and finding a solution fed my nearly 50-year-old soul.

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It was then that the idea of starting a nonprofit came into focus. What better way to celebrate a milestone birthday than to give a gift to someone else? What better way to express gratitude for a half-century of living than to try and make someone else’s life just a little bit better? Suddenly, the countdown to fifty made me feel like a kid at Christmas.

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This small idea, sparked from the dance routine of a nine-year-old, grew into the nonprofit we now call Kids Five & Over – or K50, as in 50. The nonprofit is the birthday gift I gave to myself.

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Childhood is a time when exploring unique interests brings opportunities to learn skills, form peer groups, rub shoulders with mentors, and begin the process of figuring out one's identity - brick by brick.

We can all think of an event, experience, activity, or person who helped shape our lives. These pivotal moments speak so softly that we often don’t realize they’ve happened until months, years, or even decades later. Still, the key ingredient is the opportunity to participate, engage, learn, and grow.

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Opportunity is everything.

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Our first sponsorship came the week of my 50th birthday. We found our brave dancer and offered her dance lessons. Her wide and genuine smile told us this was the beginning of something wonderful.

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 ~ Linda Beal, Founder of Kids Five & Over

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Kids Five & Over 2023 Impact Report