Live Like Sam
Foundation

“Most kids look fine on the outside, but too many are struggling on the inside, and support comes far too late. What we’re building in Summit and Wasatch County is proof that early, accessible, zero-cost programming works. The data shows it. The kids show it, and the need for it has never been greater.”

Ron Jackenthal  ·  Executive Director, Live Like Sam Foundation
2025 Impact Report
Summit & Wasatch Counties  ·  Utah
$500K+
Invested in local youth
5,000+
Youth reached across K–12
100%
Free programming
Live Like Sam Foundation
The Landscape  ·  2025 Utah SHARP Survey
The model is working.
The demand is growing.

Support too often comes only after crisis. Live Like Sam is changing that. Summit County’s improved measures are not a coincidence — the strongest results come from our deepest work. But demand is rising, and LLS is doubling down on progress, pushing for the increased capacity needed to expand.

Depression
The improvement is greatest in Summit, where LLS is most present.

Depression is declining across both counties, with the most significant improvement in Summit, where LLS programming is most deeply established. Progress is real, but more than half of local youth still report moderate to high symptoms, which means the work is far from done.

Moderate to High Symptoms of Depression  ·  2023 vs. 2025
Summit County
−17%
72% → 55%
Wasatch County
−9%
71% → 62%
Source: Utah SHARP Survey (Grades 6-12), Utah DHHS 2023 & 2025. Methodology consistent with CDC public health reporting standards.
Anxiety
Steady in Summit. Surging in Wasatch. A call to go deeper.

LLS’s services are most deeply established in Summit, where teen anxiety rates held steady, while anxiety climbed in Wasatch, where LLS is still expanding. The numbers are alarming and LLS remains committed to deepening its work in both counties where nearly half of youth report moderate to high anxiety requiring treatment.

Moderate to High Anxiety / Needs Treatment  ·  2023 vs. 2025
Summit County
Flat
46% → 46%
Wasatch County
+10%
42% → 52%
Source: Utah SHARP Survey (Grades 6-12), Utah DHHS 2023 & 2025. Methodology consistent with CDC public health reporting standards.
Silence
Some voices are breaking through, but too many remain silent.

Both counties show improvement, yet nearly 40% of young people still won’t tell anyone when they are struggling. Building a culture where students feel safe enough to ask for help before crisis is central to everything LLS does.

Students Who Won’t Tell Anyone When Struggling  ·  2023 vs. 2025
Summit County
−3%
40% → 38%
Wasatch County
−4%
41% → 37%
Source: Utah SHARP Survey (Grades 6-12), Utah DHHS 2023 & 2025. Methodology consistent with CDC public health reporting standards.
Self-Barrier
“Help is okay for others. Not for me.”

Roughly 1 in 7 students believes mental health support is appropriate for others but excludes themselves from it. This is not an access problem. It is a belief problem. Helping young people see mental health as a life skill, not a sign of weakness, is upstream work that LLS is uniquely positioned to do.

Students Who Exclude Themselves from Mental Health Support  ·  2023 vs. 2025
Summit County
+1%
13% → 14%
Wasatch County
+3%
10% → 13%
Source: Utah SHARP Survey (Grades 6-12), Utah DHHS 2023 & 2025. Methodology consistent with CDC public health reporting standards.
Beyond the Numbers  ·  What the Data Doesn’t Fully Show
The environment youth
are navigating.

Today’s youth are not just facing internal challenges. They are navigating a fundamentally different environment than any generation before them.

Constant comparison
Social platforms create a continuous highlight reel, distorting reality and reinforcing the belief that “everyone else is doing better.”
Always-on exposure
There is no off switch. Group chats, notifications, and social feeds extend social pressure beyond school hours and into the night.
Sleep disruption and blue light
Late-night device use impacts sleep quality, which is directly tied to mood regulation, anxiety, and depression.
Cyber dynamics replacing in-person cues
Conflict, exclusion, and bullying now happen digitally, often without resolution, context, or adult visibility.
Reduced frustration tolerance
Instant feedback loops and curated environments make it harder to build resilience, patience, and emotional regulation.
Silence despite connection
Even with constant communication, many students report not talking to anyone about how they feel.
Why this matters

These factors don’t just contribute to mental health challenges: they amplify, accelerate, and hide them. This is why prevention, emotional fitness, and early support are no longer optional. They are essential.

Live Like Sam is built for this environment: meeting students earlier, normalizing what’s happening inside, and giving them tools to navigate it before challenges deepen.

Proven Outcomes  ·  Growing Reach
Certified results.
Progress in motion.

On average, 2025 Thrive participants saw measurable reductions in anxiety, depression, and stress. Thrive, our flagship middle- and high-school curriculum, has been independently evaluated with 1,800+ students over four years by WeBeWell and University of Utah researchers under active IRB oversight. Findings are peer-reviewed in the International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Thrive a Level 2 evidence-informed designation.

*Thrive curriculum developed in partnership with WeBeWell.

25%
reduction in anxiety
21%
reduction in depression
7%
increase in resilience
5%
increase in quality of life

Proven programming guides expansion

Over 5,000 student engagements Pre-K–12th grade — delivering a positive impact across Summit and Wasatch Counties.

THRIVEEvidence-based · Middle & High School
432
SUMMERK-8 workshops and Day Camps
1,000+
COMMUNITYEngagements and workshops
1,575+
COREPreK–5 school workshops
2,000+
8
Total LLS programs. Pre-K–12. Full Access.
6
New & expanded programs in 2025. Scaling what works.
10
Schools activated Kindness Week.
What We Run  ·  2025 Programs
8 Programs.
Zero Cost.

For every student at every age, Pre-K to 12, LLS serves the full continuum from prevention to support, with 100% inclusion, across Summit and Wasatch Counties.

EVIDENCE-BASED
Grades 6–12
Thrive + Thrive 2.0
6-week evidence-based well-being curriculum. Positive and clinical psychology. U of U IRB-evaluated. Tier 2 State of Utah certified. LLS’s most rigorously validated and scalable program.
Grades 3–12
Digital Wellness
Skills to thrive in the digital age. Social media, screen time, body image, and cyberbullying.
MENTORSHIP & ADVENTURE
Grades 8–12  ·  NEW 2024
Sages & Seekers
Pairs teens with mentors 60+ for authentic intergenerational conversation and connection. Sages and seekers learn from one another and form a special bond. 39 teens enrolled in 2025.
Grades 6–12
Challenge Accepted
Teens step outside their comfort zone. Career exploration, adventure days, equine therapy, sailing, and skill building.
IN-SCHOOL & CAMPS
PreK–5
Well-being Workshops
In-school workshops and summer camps across Summit & Wasatch. Character, teamwork, resilience, and kindness. 2,000+ students in 2025.
Middle School
Live Well, Be Well
Well-being skills adventure day camp. Students learn essential life skills and have fun doing it.
COMMUNITY & IDENTITY
PCHS  ·  Student-Led
LLS FAM
Forward Action Makers. Students organize and run their own LLS club, driving well-being initiatives at Park City High School.
All Ages  ·  NEW 2025
Community Events
Leading With Kindness, Are You Adopted? (new 2025), Amplify Youth Voice Panels, and partner community events.
Financial Stewardship  ·  Fiscal Year 2025
Where every dollar goes.

Transparency is foundational to trust. Here is exactly how our community’s investment was deployed in 2025.

LLS invests 78 cents of every dollar into programs for our youth.

That ratio exceeds the “excellent” thresholds set by independent charity watchdogs and reflects a disciplined commitment to putting community investment where it matters most: in schools, on teams, and in the hands of the people doing the work.

FY2025 Expense Allocation  ·  Total $874,327
Program Services $683,893
78.2%
Fundraising $111,485
12.8%
Management & General $78,949
9.0%
The community invested more. LLS invested even more in our youth.

Growth in revenue was outpaced by growth in program spending. As LLS grew, its commitment to youth grew faster.

+38%
Revenue growth
Total revenue grew from $646,839 to $895,749, driven by the community — individual contributions climbed 72% ($198K → $340K).
+42%
Program investment growth
LLS reinvested that growth — and more — into programs. Program spending rose from $482K to $684K, outpacing overall revenue growth.
§
Figures drawn from LLS’s independently audited 2025 financial statements. The full audit is available at livelikesam.org as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency.
Our Vision  ·  2026 & Beyond
Help us reach
more kids, earlier.

Your support expands free programming for local youth, reaching students earlier and supporting them when it matters most. With proven demand and limited staffing capacity, LLS is at an inflection point. Strategic support helps expand capacity and increase early access, changing lives across Summit and Wasatch.

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A Legacy of Impact
Built in honor of
Sam Jackenthal

Sam Jackenthal was a gifted skier, a loyal friend, and the kind of person who made everyone around him better. He trained at the highest levels of the sport and carried with him a rare combination of courage, kindness, and joy. He died in a ski accident while training in Australia as a teenager. In the years that followed, his father Ron did his own grief work and found that families across the community who had lost loved ones were struggling without meaningful support. There were no mental health or emotional wellness resources dedicated to youth in Summit and Wasatch Counties. Ron and Sam’s sister Skylar founded Live Like Sam to change that, building it on the qualities Sam embodied: kindness, bravery, compassion, resilience, and an unstoppable zest for life. LLS is now the only organization in the community dedicated entirely to the mental and emotional fitness of young people, free and inclusive, and growing every year. About Sam →

Sam Jackenthal
LLS community
Nate Barber — Sam Jackenthal Award
Join us in building a community where no student struggles in silence, and every student knows where to turn.
Live Like Sam Foundation
livelikesam.org  |  programs@livelikesam.org  |  501(c)(3)
All donations are tax-deductible.