Extraordinary Lives Foundation
OUR STORY
Founded on the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive emotionally and mentally, the Extraordinary Lives Foundation (ELF) works to break down barriers to mental health support through innovative, engaging, and accessible resources. We focus on young children, a critical stage for building foundational skills in emotional regulation and self-expression. Our mascot, Piggie Bear, serves as a relatable and comforting guide for children, helping them learn to identify feelings, practice positive self-talk, and develop healthy coping strategies.
ELF offers two programs for mental and emotional support of young children. First is the Children’s Emotional Wellness (CHEW) program which is donated to classrooms in underserved communities. Through lessons and presentations with Piggie Bear as their guide, students learn about identifying their emotions, using calming skills, and communicating their feelings. They also learn how to apply those skills in different situations, to foster social engagement and positive communication habits. The second program is the Piggie Bear Happy Pack program. Created to provide comfort and calming to children in vulnerable situations such as in hospitals, domestic shelters, or disaster recovery, Piggie Bear Happy Packs are donated to non-profit organizations serving those communities.
ELF partners with schools, psychologists, community organizations, and families to provide tools such as bilingual storybooks, therapeutic plush toys, activity kits, and interactive workshops. By combining creativity with evidence-based approaches, we make mental health education accessible, fun, and impactful for young children. With a commitment to equity and inclusion, we also ensure our resources are available to diverse communities who may otherwise lack support.
Through these efforts, ELF is not only addressing the growing mental health challenges children face today but also building stronger, healthier communities for the future.
Mission Statement
ELF's mission is to improve children’s mental health and wellness and support families by providing awareness events, educational tools, and resources.
We encourage families to recognize symptoms, overcome the stigma and reach out for help. Through prevention and early intervention, we believe many of the big problems facing today’s youth can be transformed within a generation.
Background Statement
The Extraordinary Lives Foundation (ELF) was founded in 2015, by Mara James, to change the way society views and addresses children’s mental health and emotional wellness. How strange is it that children are taught to brush their teeth every day, yet they are not taught to care for their mental health? For Mara, it was about providing support early in childhood. As Frederick Douglas pointed out, it is much easier to build strong, resilient children than to repair broken adults. This inspired the creation of Piggie Bear, ELF’s mascot and the heart of their mission.
PIGGIE BEAR
Piggie Bear is a fun-loving, and relatable character who helps children identify emotions and learn essential values like compassion and empathy, laying the foundation for emotional wellness. He is the title character in the books “The Power of Piggie Bear” and “Piggie Bear’s Power of Happiness,” authored by Mara to teach children ways to identify and cope with their emotions. Navigating the ups and downs of daily life can be stressful and intimidating for any child, even more so for a child in foster care or experiencing illness or homelessness.
WHAT PIGGIE BEAR TEACHES
Piggie Bear promotes self-acceptance and teaches that it is OK to be different.
Piggie Bear boosts self-confidence and self-esteem.
Piggie Bear shares emotions and teaches children to recognize them.
Piggie Bear teaches coping skills, deep belly breathing, and self-calming techniques.
Piggie Bear demonstrates self-love.
The following is a testimonial from a local licensed mental health therapist: "It can often be a challenge for children to find the right words to express what is going on inside. However, hearing Piggie Bear express these feelings makes it relatable. "The Power of Piggie Bear" is a wonderful, heartfelt approach to giving children tools for dealing with their feelings and developing self-acceptance." Debbie Hutchinson, Psy.D., MFT.
ELF donates the Children’s Emotional Wellness (CHEW) program, empowered by Piggie Bear, and Piggie Bear Happy Packs, to vulnerable children throughout Orange County, and beyond.
Impact Statement
2025 Impact Numbers:
10,956 Children served in 2025.
6,105 Children reached by our Children’s Emotional Wellness (CHEW) Program, empowered by Piggie Bear.
407 Classrooms that received our Children's Emotional Wellness (CHEW) program, empowered by Piggie Bear.
501 Piggie Bear Therapeutic Happy Packs Donated
Needs Statement
The following are our top four most pressing needs:
1. Unrestricted or core funding to support and expand operations (administration, social media and communications, website maintenance, marketing).
2. Funding to donate and expand the Children’s Emotional Wellness Week program (CHEWW) program to classrooms of schools serving economically disadvantaged families.
3. Funding to donate and expand Piggie Bear Happy Packs donations to vulnerable children.
4. Funding to provide educational workshops to improve social emotional wellness for parents with children facing challenges.
Geographic Areas Served
Orange County and beyond
Top Three Populations Served
- Children ages 0-5
- Households with limited English proficiency
- Latinos
Statement from the CEO/Executive Director
CEO STATEMENT
Many families are impacted by mental health related issues, yet most people are uncomfortable admitting to this for fear of stigma. Stigma is a negative label or a mark of disgrace. Many families impacted by mental health related issues often suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn or how to seek help. I created the Extraordinary Lives Foundations (ELF) to bring mental health out of the shadows and into the light and raise awareness so that mental health is openly discussed and seen simply as one aspect of general wellness.
My world as I had known it fell part in 2014 when out of the blue, at age 48, I experienced a manic episode and was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. My husband, Kenny, and I had already been dealing with mental health challenges in our family as we have a son who has Asperger's and ADHD. Thanks to my psychiatrist, and the many gifted healers who have helped me, I have been guided back to a state of mental well-being. On this journey, I became acutely aware of the stigma that accompanies mental health challenges and realized how many problems experienced later in life stem from early childhood.
This was the inspiration to start ELF and to promote children's mental health and emotional wellness. ELF’s mascot Piggie Bear was created to normalize the conversation around emotions and empower children. ELF places emphasis on prevention and early intervention to support children in becoming more resilient, improving their mental health and discouraging self-destructive behavior.
I know in my heart that by focusing on our young ones, helping them cope with their emotions, and teaching them self-love, self-acceptance and self calming skills, they can live happier and healthier lives.
Mara James, Founder & CEO
Statement from the Board Chair/President
Our Board of Directors are passionate about empowering children and their families to navigate mental health challenges and build resilience as Extraordinary Lives Foundation (ELF) serves a diverse population.
One of the built-in challenges of that is communicating across cultural and socio-economic areas, and ELF has found a mascot to do that, in Piggie Bear. With Piggie Bear sharing a universal message of inclusivity and kindness, he helps ELF to fulfill its mission to improve children’s mental health and emotional wellness through providing educational tools, resources and outreach events.
As ELF continues to grow and expand its programs, our goal is to build our local relationships with child-focused organizations and to also foster relationships with organizations around the nation to increase awareness around the issues and the options available for children’s emotional wellness.
Duan Tran
ELF Board Chair
CONTACT
Extraordinary Lives Foundation
26800 Crown Valley Parkway
Suite 460
Mission VIejo, CA 92691
Mara James
Phone: 949-315 9735