Like many toddlers, Peyton liked to test his boundaries. He made a habit of running away from his mother, Bethany, at all the wrong times - like when they were in public places.

   One afternoon, as Peyton tried to dash away from his mother, she reached out and grabbed him by the arm before he got too far. They fell into a tangled and frustrated mess as a stranger turned the corner. What the stranger saw alarmed her and she called the police.

   Soon, Child Protective Services (CPS) were involved. When they came to Bethany's home, they were very concerned about  the level of disarray it was in. They gave her one week; if she could not get her home into shape by then, the city would seize the house and she would lose Peyton.

   "I didn't have time to freak out," Bethany said, now six months later. "I told them, 'you will not take my son.'"

   Bethany's parents took Peyton on a vacation and Bethany spent the whole week cleaning. She got six hours of sleep in five days. She was determined to get her home clean.

   "I would set my alarm clock for 7 a.m. and if I wasn't where I wanted to be that night, I didn't sleep," she said.

   Her hard work paid off. When the CPS workers came back to inspect her home the following week, they thought they were in the wrong place.

   But even with a clean home, CPS recommended that Bethany participate in Highfields' Families Together Building Solutions program (FTBS). This would help her uncover some of the problems she was encountering with Peyton.

   "I looked at it as a positive," she said. "Most people fight the system, but I welcomed it."

   Her FTBS counselor, Dave, was able to help Bethany pinpoint the areas she needed to work on. He also helped her respond better to Peyton's outbursts.

   "When Peyton had a tantrum, Dave was able to actually see how it started, why it started and how I reacted," she said. "He gave me advice on how to handle it and not let it get to that point."

   She said the hardest part was the beginning - cleaning her home and letting Dave, a stranger, into it.

   "You think, 'is this person working for me or is he working for CPS?'" she said. "But it was obvious he was there for me."

   Bethany completed the FTBS program successfully, but continues to attend group counseling sessions at Highfields' Lansing office. She says she is happy to have the opportunity to work with different case workers, counselors and parents who have been through similar situations.

   "I made a bad situation into as positive as you can make it," she said. "I've learned a lot and I appreciate the support from Dave and Highfields."

   As a father of three, Davey Long encourages his kids to pursue their interests and work toward their goals. That's why last fall, when his ten-year-old son, Isaac, asked him and his brother, Kenny, to run in a community 5K, he agreed.

   "I was proud that he decided to do it himself and I was flattered that he asked us to do it with him," he said.

   Isaac was a part of the running club at Vandercook Lake's Reaching Higher program. Jason Tello, site coordinator at Vandercook Lake, said they do their best to cater to the interests of their students.

   "We're always coming up with different ideas that might catch some intrigue," he said. "Running Club worked in some of the other Reaching Higher programs, so we thought we'd try it out."

   Running Club taught the students how to stretch properly, what to eat and how to prepare for running in cold weather. Reaching Higher even supplied the kids with proper running shoes.

   "The very first day we started actually running, half the kids were trying to run in hi-top casual shoes or loafers," Jason said. "It was kind of a no-brainer. They would have definitely not been able to do a 5K in the shoes they were wearing."

   The deal was if the kids stuck with Running Club for the entire six weeks, they would be able to keep the shoes.

   "Isaac was really geeked," Davey said. "I was impressed [with Reaching Higher]. The shoes were florescent pink and he's into those florescent colors."

   The new shoes got the kids excited about running and motivated them to participate in the 5K run that Isaac asked Davey to participate in. The shoes were a big hit, but the Reaching Higher coordinators knew that the next school year would bring more kids who wanted to run but didn't have the proper shoes.

   "We usually have about 45 kids throughout our Reaching Higher programs who want to run," said Brenda Weck, Highfields' Reaching Higher program coordinator.

   Highfields created a plan to prepare for a new group of kids who want to run. On #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Highfields asked community members to donate $45 to go toward a pair of shoes for a student who wanted to run. Our goal was to raise enough money to buy 45 kids new running shoes.

   On Tuesday, December 2, thanks to the donations of 18 generous people, we reached that goal. And now, with spring here and the running season beginning again, Reaching Higher is excited to be purchasing new shoes for a new group of students excited to learn about running. Much like Isaac, some of them may find they are pretty good at it.

   "For weeks on end, I couldn't get over how proud I was of Isaac," Davey said. "I saw how hard he tried and he succeeded! I was excited for him. I hadn't experienced this feeling before as a father. That feeling was the best thing I got out of this race."

Learn more about Highfields' Reaching Higher Program at highfields.org/reaching-higher.