Play to Empower 2026 Wrap UP

Our recent Play to Empower FUNdraiser was a blast! Thanks to our generous sponsors and attendees, we raised more than $29,000 to empower youth with foster care experience through life-changing mentoring, positive recreation, and life skills education. We were thrilled to welcome so many new faces, with approximately one-third of guests new to Aging UP and attending Play to Empower for the first time.

The evening kicked off with happy hour, tasty bites, and many ways to join the fun. Guests purchased raffle tickets for the chance to win themed baskets valued from $200 to $900, tested their skills in our free putting contest, snapped pics at our photo stop and took a chance on a mystery bottle through our delectable wine pull. They could also purchase Empower Flags to directly fund program or youth needs or compete for one of five silent auction experiences.

During all the friendly competition, laughter, mingling, and generosity, the sense of community was very strong. It was wonderful to see longtime supporters and new friends come together to have fun and make an impact!

The highlight of the evening was hearing from Mentee Kenya and Mentor Erica, who are celebrating eight incredible years together! Through funny and heartfelt stories, they shared how their friendship has grown from the days when Kenya was just beginning high school, through special bonding time during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the close friendship they enjoy today.

Now 22, Kenya describes Erica as one of her best friends and gives her mentor credit for helping her “go from a shy teen to a confident young woman, who would have never done anything like this [speak in front of an audience] before.”

Their story was a beautiful reminder that mentoring is about much more than spending time together. Consistent, caring relationships offer encouragement, confidence and connection through many stages of life, filling a vital gap that too many youth from foster care experience.
Another exciting moment was when our Community Director, April, shared how funds raised will to add a new mentoring cohort in 2027. She also shared pans that include launching levelUP Coaches, our next phase of mentoring. Through this new model, professionals with expertise in specific life skills will provide additional support alongside 1:1 mentors to assist older teens and young adults with real-life goals such as college, employment, and financial planning.

Reaching these goals will take continued generosity from sponsors and supporters, including our UPlifter Giving Community, made up of friends who invest monthly or yearly to sustain and grow our mission.

We are deeply grateful to event sponsors, Capitol Advisors Group, UC Davis Health, Golden 1 Credit Union, Fitness Machine Technicians, and Sakata Seed America. We are also thankful to Rachel of FSA Auctions, who brought warmth and fun energy as our emcee while inspiring generosity throughout the evening.

Of course, the event could not have happened without the nearly 20 amazing volunteers who served on the planning committee and on the event-day team, ensuring everything ran smoothly. Our huge thanks to each of them for the many hours they gave to support our mission in this special way.

We are sincerely grateful to our sponsors, event-day team, in-kind supporters who made our raffle, auction and wine pull so exciting, and every guest who attended, bid, and donated. You truly played to empower!

Together, we turned a fun night out into meaningful support for youth with foster care experience. That is something worth celebrating!

See all our raffle and auction supporters below. For more information about becoming an UPlifter or sponsoring next year’s event, please reach out to our Community Engagement Lead, Amber, at amber@agingup.org or 916.265.4021.