Our agency’s administrative assistant, Emilie Starr, recently delivered the keynote speech at a Foster Grandparent volunteer event put on by our sister agency, UServe Utah. Here is the text of her heartfelt speech.
Welcome, everyone. It is a profound honor to stand before you today and express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you, the Foster Grandparents of Utah. Your unwavering dedication to providing support and safety to our youth is truly remarkable, and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for choosing to show up.
My name is Emilie Starr. I work with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and I also moonlight as a host on BYUtv’s “Random Acts” program, where we have the privilege of bringing joy to deserving individuals through community nomination. Through my work, I’ve been fortunate to witness firsthand the incredible impact of community safety nets and the beautiful outcomes that arise when people choose to be there for one another. In fact, the concept of “family support” has been a constant thread throughout my life, weaving its way into every environment I encounter.
And that brings me to the heart of my message today: the profound importance of showing up. The gratitude I feel for each and every one of you, for choosing to be someone else’s support system, for choosing to show up, is immeasurable.
Safety nets are more than just a concept to me; they are a fundamental part of my life’s personal and professional foundation. And it all started with someone showing up for me. Now I seek out and strive to develop these systems of support wherever I go. To truly illustrate the power of showing up, I’d like to share a few stories, beginning with a look at how this principle operates within my professional community.
The Strength of “Sister Divisions”
My division, the Utah Division of Arts & Museums together with UServe Utah, are a part of nine distinct divisions that form the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. Within our department, we aren’t just colleagues; we are a support system, a vibrant network where individuals uplift each other, celebrate triumphs collectively, and stand united during challenges. We function, in the truest sense, like a family. We even affectionately refer to the nine divisions as “Sister Divisions.”
This familial bond manifests in tangible ways. When the Division of Indian Affairs needs extra hands to staff their tables during a legislative day, their first call is to their sisters. When the Division of Multicultural Affairs welcomes a new team member with a flurry of onboarding questions, they turn to their sisters for guidance.
I vividly recall a significant project undertaken by the State Library Division. They were tasked with sorting through thousands of audio cartridges from Utah State Library for the Blind’s collection. It was a monumental undertaking, a project that could have easily stretched over months. Instead, they reached out to their sisters. Without a moment’s hesitation, over 40 volunteers from every single division stepped forward. It was no longer just “their” project; it became our project. A shared sense of ownership and collective pride propelled us, and what was projected to take months was accomplished in a single, remarkable day.
Similarly, when the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic struck our cultural institutions, it wasn’t a collection of isolated entities fighting individual battles. We witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of support from within our department. Teams readily shared resources, collaboratively brainstormed solutions to navigate uncharted territory, and offered invaluable emotional support to colleagues grappling with immense uncertainty. Just as a family instinctively rallies together during tough times, we leaned on each other.
And when our department seeks to make a tangible difference in our broader community, we need look no further than our sister organization, UServe Utah. Together, we’ve curated impactful service projects, such as partnering with the Utah Food Bank to create weekend dinner boxes for schoolchildren in Bountiful. We’ve also coordinated winter clothing drives for the Road Home Family Resource Center.
These instances are not isolated acts of kindness; they are a true reflection of our fundamental ethos. We deeply understand that our individual missions are inherently interconnected. When one part of our department flourishes, we all benefit. Therefore, volunteering for each other is not simply a task to be completed; it is a tangible expression of our shared commitment to the cultural and communal well-being of Utah.
The Power of Community: Mary’s Story
Now, I’d like to share a glimpse into the power of showing up within the broader community. Through my work with “Random Acts,” I got the privilege of meeting a remarkable woman named Mary Daniels, who owns a small thrift shop in Salt Lake City called Lilies of the Field. Mary’s journey of service began simply: collecting clothing donations and personally driving them to individuals experiencing homelessness every Sunday before attending church. This initial act of giving blossomed into her thrift store, which became more than just a place to find affordable goods. It evolved into a vital safe space for the struggling community surrounding it.
Mary’s business model was unique and deeply compassionate: “pay what you can afford,” and if someone couldn’t afford anything at all, Mary would simply give them what they needed. Her daughters shared with me that Mary possessed an almost uncanny ability to identify those in need, and no one who entered her store ever left without clothes, food, and often, whatever cash Mary had in her pocket. She even initiated a program in collaboration with the prison system to provide newly released individuals with interview-appropriate clothing, helping them take those crucial first steps toward reintegration.
A few years ago tragedy struck when a pipe burst in her store. While repairs were eventually made, Mary found herself unable to cover the rent for the following month. But the community she had consistently shown up for, the individuals whose lives she had touched in countless ways, they, in turn, showed up for her. They nominated her for a “Random Acts” surprise.
Now, we can’t watch the entire episode, but I can fill you in on what happened. We surprised Mary with a trip to the Midway Crater to go scuba diving, a long-held dream she shared with her daughters. Unbeknownst to them, I stayed behind to keep her store running. We put out a call to her community, inviting them to come and support her business while she was away. (Play Clip)
What the cameras didn’t fully capture was the continuous stream of people who came to Lilies of the Field throughout that entire day. People who had been touched by Mary’s generosity, people who considered her a friend, a confidante, a lifeline, and those inspired by her story. By the time Mary returned, her community had shown up in such force that she was able to make enough money to cover her rent for the entire year in just one day. “Her Family” that came out of the store at the end were the closest members of her community. The only people she was related to there were her daughters. Together with her chosen family – all these people recognized her unwavering commitment and chose to show up for her in her time of need. The act of showing up is a powerful, reciprocal force.
The Foundation of My Own “Family Support”
My own understanding of the power of showing up began very early in my life. When I was born, my mother found herself in an incredibly vulnerable position. A homemaker and mother of five, she was still recovering in the hospital from complications of my birth when my biological father made the decision to leave our family. Suddenly, she was sick, thousands of miles away from anyone she knew, and without any source of income.
Fortunately, my mother’s parents were the unwavering safety net she desperately needed. They didn’t hesitate. They drove across the country to care for her until she was well enough to travel, and then embarked on a two-week journey back to Utah with all of us, a newborn included. We moved into my grandparents’ tiny home while my mom worked tirelessly to obtain her teaching license and secure a job as an educator.
A few years later, our family of five beautifully “Brady-bunched” into a family of eight when she met and married my dad, Don. I vividly remember the first time I met Don’s mother. She hugged me and told me the thing that would become the guiding principle in my life: “Hello, I am your grandmother, and there is no such thing as stepchildren in our family, because family is who shows up.”
Family is who shows up, and to this day, she still does. My parents have now been happily married for 33 years, enjoying their retirement, traveling, and still living in the very tiny home that they eventually bought from my mother’s parents.
My story has a happy ending because of the family safety nets my mother was fortunate enough to have – parents who were not only able, but also willing to show up for her during her darkest moments. A new family who fully accepted, embraced, and celebrated their bonus grandkids. It is not lost on me that my life could have taken a drastically different path if we hadn’t had these incredible individuals willing to show up for us. The countless hours spent by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors, investing their time in the children of our family, helped keep us afloat until my mother found her footing again.
It was this early exposure to the power of chosen family, to the unwavering support of those who showed up, that shaped me into the person I am today. A person who is constantly seeking out and creating similar systems in hopes of showing up for as many people as I can. We are all the direct result of someone showing up, and the good we put out in the world is the larger ripple effect of that selfless act.
The Ripple Effect of Showing Up: Foster Grandparents
And that brings me full circle to the invaluable work each of you does as Foster Grandparents. In the seemingly simple act of showing up for the children in your care, whether you see yourself as a Grandma Teacher, a Seasoned Citizen sharing your wisdom, or someone just beginning your Foster Grandparent journey, the impact you are making is, and will continue to be, absolutely massive for these children.
Time is the most precious commodity we possess, because once it’s spent, we can never get it back. You have consciously chosen to invest your time in the next generation, and the ripple effects of your influence have already begun to spread. You might witness some short-term ripples – perhaps a heartfelt “we miss you, get well soon” video when you’re away. Maybe you’ll see a child discover a love for reading, master a challenging math problem, find joy in ballet, embrace the energy of exercise, or express themselves through art. What one person sees as a decorated walker, another sees as an artistic masterpiece, sparked perhaps by your encouragement. You might even help a child uncover a lifelong passion through the very things you are passionate about.
And I am sure each of you has witnessed that unmistakable spark in a child’s eyes when they finally achieve a long-sought-after goal or grasp a new concept. Or the profound breath of relief when a child finally trusts you enough to confide in you. That sacred space of trust is where you have the extraordinary opportunity to help guide the trajectory of their young lives with your invaluable mentorship. You are showing them that they are worthy of your time, your attention, and your care.
What is even more wonderful, and perhaps less immediately apparent, is that your positive influence will linger with these children long after we are all gone. You may not be there to see them graduate college, find loving partners, or secure fulfilling careers. We may not witness them stand up for themselves with courage, choose to act with kindness in challenging situations, contribute to making their communities better, or consciously choose to invest their own time in showing up for others because someone once did it for them. We may not get to see the larger, more distant ripples of your dedication.
But please, have unwavering faith that not only will those ripples exist, but they will exist in part because of you. Simply by showing up, consistently and with open hearts, you are proving to these beautiful children that they are someone worth showing up for. You are demonstrating that you see inherent good and boundless potential within them. And in that simple act of presence, you are planting seeds of resilience, compassion, and the understanding that in a world that can sometimes feel uncertain, there are people who will choose to be there.
You are, each and every one of you, those people. You are showing up, and for that, I thank you.
We hope you enjoyed this post. Why not get into the spirit of volunteerism and donate your time to your favorite museum or arts organization?