Maya was born in Israel and moved to the United States in 1982, moving throughout the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area for many years. Maya became independent at age 17 and, ultimately, raised her daughter as a single mother.

Maya draws upon her own healing journey to empathetically connect with others. She is especially passionate about helping teens and young adults find their inner strength and success. This drew her to our program. She was part of Cohort 6 Mentor Training. After successful completion, she was even more invested in our mission and, after an exciting conversation, she was invited to apply for the AmeriCorps position. She became a welcomed addition to the team in December 2023 and renewed her contract in August 2024!

Within her AmeriCorps role, Maya is the Youth Developer for Aging UP. This involves building rapport and providing hands-on adulting support to the older teens and young adults in our program. She works side-by-side with our youth, assisting them in creating resumes, looking for jobs and securing resources or supportive services throughout the community. She was even recognized as The Child Abuse Prevention Center‘s AmeriCorps Member of the Month in June 2024!

When not working, Maya enjoys movement through Pilates and walking. She also finds joy in baking and cooking for her family. We love having her gentle demeanor and hard work as part of our team!

From the comfort of your home, you can meet our co-founders to gain a clear picture of what being an Aging UP mentor is all about. During an interactive presentation, they will share all about the need for mentoring, the support we provide, and the steps needed to become a mentor. They will also address any questions you have.

So, what are you waiting for?! Sign up today to discover if becoming a mentor is right for you.

Upcoming Orientations (spots are limited and pre-registration is required)

Thursday, June 6| 5:30 – 6:30 pm

For more information, email Program Director Kecia at Kecia@agingup.org or visit agingup.org/become-a-mentor.

Simply shop through AmazonSmile and select Aging UP as your charitable organization. You’ll enjoy an identical Amazon shopping experience — the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com — but a portion of your purchase will be donated to us at no cost to you! Please just remember to shop through AmazonSmile every time you shop.

To make it easy, you can bookmark AmazonSmile at smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate it in your Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. Simply turn on AmazonSmile in your app (through “Settings” in the main menu) or go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-3023085 every time you shop.

You can also donate a physical item from our Amazon Wish List. These items will be used for direct youth services.

Please select Aging UP as your AmazonSmile charity. It’s an easy yet meaningful way to empower youth from foster care toward happy, healthy, self-sufficient futures.

We know there are many well-deserving local and national charities and appreciate your support to empower youth with experience in foster care to beat statistics and thrive.

There are many ways to support our mission. Please consider how you can give to empower youth this holiday season.

DOLLARS

• Give any amount online or by check.
• Donate gift cards to local restaurants, attraction venues, and retail or grocery stores so youth can enjoy constructive free time or gain much-needed items!
  • Gift cards and/or checks can be mailed to us at PO Box 22963 Sacramento, CA 95822.
• Purchase something from our Amazon Wish List that will be sent directly to us and given to teens or used for program purposes.

TIME

• Sign up to become a mentor or a volunteer.
• Designate Aging UP as your AmazonSmile charity then use our link every time you shop to support our mission at no cost to you!

VOICE

• Like and share our messages on social media.
• Encourage others to donate and get involved!

Thank you for giving the gift of empowerment!

On September 17, our generous community joined together via YouTube Live for the event finale of our 3^rd Annual Play to Empower FUNdraiser. This Live Virtual Game Night featured Freddie Silveria of FSA Auctions as the incredible emcee. He and volunteer Andrea Saenz were great co-hosts. Victoria Rodriguez served as videographer, editor and day-of producer. And Carly of Tidy Revival worked with our Co-founder April to coordinate the event. We’re thankful to this team for creating a fun and meaningful event!

During the event, participants played trivia, based on famous movie mentors, and they tried their best to guess sketches drawn by our hosts. Most importantly, they heard from one of our Mentoring Matches and they gave generously to make wishes become real-life adventures for our teens!

Watch the recording

Those who played our games had the chance to win amazing prize packs. We’re so grateful to Tidy Revival for continuing to sponsor and support this event. We’re also thankful for the amazing in-kind support from 90 Plus Wine Club, Tami Hackbarth Guilt-free Self-care, True Value Hardware in Woodland, Article Consignment, Leatherby’s Family Creamery, Revolution Winery & Kitchen, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Cabine, Propagate Plants & Gatherings, Fox and Goose Public House, Salt & Shea, Kona Ice Central Sacramento, Fish and Chip Craft Co., and others who contributed toward our fantastic prize packs!

The Live Virtual Game night was the finale of a weeklong, online peer-to-peer FUNdraiser, which raised a total of $13,269!! These funds will directly support our overall program that empowers youth from foster care to thrive into adulthood! A portion will also go toward making the requested adventures happen for our teens. We’re so grateful!

Our event may be over, but there are many ways to get involved: donate, mentor, volunteer, and share our posts on social media.

As we continue to navigate through the pandemic, our goal is to maintain the highest quality of programming for youth from foster care. We are also committed to offering fun ways for our generous and caring community to get involved. Thank you to everyone who joined this event!

As a trauma-informed, strength-based organization, we are proud to put our values into action. Thanks to support from our generous community, our staff, mentors, board members and volunteers receive training on trauma as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). We also use a cultural focus when matching youth to mentors and offer resources and opportunities that enhance social equity.

Yet, we are committed to doing more. Our current steps include a newly launched youth leadership group, expanding mentor and board recruitment within communities of color, training more on sensitive race, gender and economic issues, increasing the ethnic and cultural experiences for our teens, and advancing the sociopolitical development of the youth we serve.

However, we cannot do this alone. You can help us better serve our diverse community of young people. Join us by donating, volunteering or mentoring.

Together, we empower youth toward happy, healthy, self-sufficient futures. This has been and will continue to be our commitment as an organization.

Thank you for being part of our inclusive and caring community.

But you don’t have to wait for this special 24-hour period—YOU can give now through 11:59 pm on May 2 at bigdayofgiving.org/agingup! Thanks to our friends Brent Gove Team eXp Realty, the first $2,500 donated will be matched!

Sacramento is among the cities with the highest rates of human trafficking in the nation. Too many of its citizens are experiencing homelessness, drug or alcohol addiction and mental health challenges. Unfortunately, former foster youth disproportionately face such outcomes. But YOU can empower change!

Our research-based services of one-to-one mentoring, positive recreation, and life skills education offer a preventative approach to such adverse outcomes. Your investment in our mission empowers youth who deserve it most.

Your tax-deductible generosity equips 13-to-21-year-old youth from foster care with the skills and resources needed to thrive into adulthood.

There are 820 nonprofits participating in Big Day of Giving this year, and we are rooting for all of them. We also know we are not the only organization reaching out for your support, and we appreciate your thoughtful consideration of investing in our mission. Not only will your gift immediately impact a young person who deserves it most, it will also improve the overall community as we empower youth from foster care to grow into happy, healthy, self-sufficient adults.

Give today at bigdayofgiving.org/agingup!

Big Day of Giving is a program of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to raise unrestricted funds for nonprofit organizations that strengthen the capital region. It is an inspiring day of philanthropy that began in 2013 and we are proud to participate.

Andrea actually came up with our name: Aging UP. As Co-founder April’s sister, she was often part of conversations during the organizational development phase. One evening, the phrase “we want to help them aging up, not out” was stated and she enthusiastically said, “that’s it. That’s the name!”

Family involvement aside, Andrea has a big heart for opportunity youth and invests in both local and international causes.

Andrea spends her free time enjoying traveling, hosting dinner nights with friends and family, and discovering what new things interest her 8 and 16-year-old sons.

Photo by Lana Akin Photography

Team Ca-Loni-Ka jumped out to an early lead with 15 points in Round 1. Overall they scored 24 of a possible 28 points in two rounds! This winning team had some serious gamers and was on fire throughout the challenge. Team I Don’t Know ended up joining forces with Team T2 and still came up a bit short in the challenge. They get an A for effort and continuing to play even when they didn’t know the answers to the questions. Overall the event was a lot of fun and a great way to unwind after a long week. Youth on the winning team won $10 Google Play gift cards, and other youth participants received a $5 gift card each – all mailed to them. 

Did you know –  surgeons who regularly play video games make 37% fewer errors and finish tasks 27% faster than their peers. We might have a couple of surgeons in training! 

Our virtual meet UPs are a vital part of our programming during these unique times. At a time when many social interactions have been cut short, it’s important that we continue to offer opportunities for our mentees to interact with each other, joke around and just have fun. It’s also another moment for the adults in our program to show that they are a consistent figure in their mentee’s life. 

Aging UP has three pillars to our programming; mentoring, recreation and education. To learn more about our programs and how they impact the lives of our youth, visit Our Programs page.