In 2023, after two years of social distancing norms, we launched our first Appreciation Event to reconnect and celebrate the power of community. It quickly became one of our favorite annual traditions.

This year, mentors, volunteers, supporters, community partners and friends gathered to once again celebrate the people who help make our mission possible. Thanks to the generosity of Bike Dog Brewing for donating the event space and Save Mart Folsom Blvd. for providing delicious bites, the mixer-style event was filled with gratitude and meaningful connections.

One of the highlights each year is recognizing individuals whose extraordinary dedication has strengthened our community and created brighter futures for youth. We proudly honor a Mentor of the Year, UPlifter of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year for their outstanding dedication and impact on the youth we serve. This year also featured a new heartfelt Founder Appreciation.

• Kecia Domoto | Founder Appreciation – This year’s Appreciation Event was the perfect opportunity to publicly honor Aging UP Co-Founder Kecia for her vision and leadership in helping create a community of opportunities and support for youth with foster care experience. It all began with a leap of faith in 2016, when she and Co-founder April, with assistance from other professionals, developed Aging UP’s trauma-informed, strengths-based model and mentor training curriculum. After recruiting our first mentoring cohort in 2018, Kecia continued to diligently serve as Program Director, managing day-to-day program operations, which required innovation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Kecia retired from her staff role in August 2025, yet as we say, “Once you’re part of our community, you’re always part of it!” Kecia’s efforts and advocacy will remain embedded throughout our culture.

• Kristin Leonard | Mentor of the Year – For more than 8 years, Kristin’s outstanding commitment has been an anchor for her mentee, Star. She is there to celebrate milestones, offer encouragement and provide practical support, including reaching out for grocery gift cards when needed. After Star earned her esthetician license in 2025, Kristin connected her with an opportunity to turn her passion for beauty into additional income as a Beauty Society Advisor. Kristin’s generosity extends beyond her mentoring relationship. She volunteers during events and is on our FUNdraising planning committee. Kristin also made last year’s  Holiday meetUP one of the sweetest events yet by baking more than 100 sugar cookies for youth and mentors to decorate together.

• Victoria Rodriguez | Volunteer of the Year – Our community has stories to share, and “Vikki,” as she’s known by Mentoring Matches, makes that happen! As a full-time videographer and editor, Vikki uses her expertise to highlight our mission in a meaningful way. While she has volunteered in this role since our founding in 2018, last year she made it a priority to create more video content, launching several new INsights videos featuring unscripted mentees and mentors. These powerful stories were a huge part of our much-needed end-of-year and Big Day of Giving fundraising successes. Check out the moving videos she produced on our YouTube channel!

• Don Wells | UPlifter of the Year – Don is the Chief Empowerment Officer of Just In Time For Foster Youth, a San Diego-based nonprofit that provides community and life-changing resources for more than 3,000 former foster youth annually. After an introduction in 2024, Aging UP joined JIT’s 100K Community, a “scaling by sharing” approach that allows partners to replicate JIT’s impactful model to best fit each organization’s needs. Shortly after, Don, who has led JIT for nearly 20 years, began mentoring Co-founder April. True to the UPlifter definition, this was extremely beneficial during a season of significant changes, including Keica’s retirement and the unexpected elimination of our local AmeriCorps program due to federal cuts and the two positions it provided. Don also made a personal multi-year investment of $20,000 and invited others to invest in Our Vision to serve 100 youth annually by 2030. When accepting his award, Don shared encouraging words that perfectly captured the spirit of the day.

Guests also enjoyed Mingle Bingo, which sparked great conversations, delicious appetizers from Save Mart, raffle prizes, and the opportunity to build new or deeper connections with others who believe in empowering young people. The event was a joyful reminder that every success story begins with a community of people who show up, care deeply and invest in the future of young people.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who attended, volunteered, donated, and helped make this celebration a success. Such support ensures that youth with foster care experience have access to the relationships, resources and opportunities needed to thrive.

Thank you for being part of our community and for helping us celebrate another year of impact. We look forward to continuing to empower thriving futures together!

Thanks to our friends Christina Angeles and David Temblador, every teen and young adult in our program will receive gifts from their wish lists. The couple hosted their 12^th Annual Holiday Fundraiser, inviting friends, family and colleagues to join them in making the holidays brighter for youth who are often forgotten.

We are honored to be selected for the 4th year as the couple’s teen organization. And this year was a first for our Community Director, April, to attend the festive event, where guests enjoyed tasty appetizers, drinks and live guitar strumming.

This special fundraiser raised more than $7,500 in wish list items, monetary contributions and gift cards for Aging UP’s youth. With the addition of David and Christina’s 2025 pledge and other generous investments, it also raised $10,250 to benefit our overall program!! Truly, the holiday spirit of generosity abounded, and we are beyond grateful.

After the event, Christina graciously organized all the items for a smooth pick up. Then our team and a kind volunteer festively bagged and wrapped the presents for Mentors to deliver to their mentees on behalf of “Friends of Aging UP.”

The bountiful presents will spark joy for our teens and young adults! We are incredibly grateful to Christina, David and their guests for the extraordinary gift of care and generosity.

Kecia has devoted her career to supporting at-risk youth, serving in roles such as community health educator, boys group home manager, mentoring program assistant, and transition specialist. These experiences deepened her passion for helping young people realize their full potential.

After witnessing the challenges faced by youth aging out of foster care—who often enter adulthood with only a 50/50 chance of success—Kecia felt compelled to do more. Together with co-founder April, she launched Aging UP to provide these youth with the resources and support they need to lead happy, healthy and self-sufficient lives.

Since 2015, when serious conversations and planning began, Kecia has been a dedicated co-founder, working with April to design a thorough trauma-informed, strength-based training curriculum and mentoring program for young people with foster care experience. Due to a new season in her life, Kecia stepped down from day-to-day program management in 2025, but she remains involved as a co-founder and passionate advocate for our mission.

Kecia is embracing her new season while continuing a career path of improving outcomes for marginalized teens. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog, Kumo, reading, crocheting and dreaming up home improvement projects. She treasures quality time with her adult sons, close friends and family.

Photo by Lana Akin Photography

I am truly grateful to have been raised in a loving, two-parent household. I am also fortunate to have spent my adolescent years living next door to Jayna, one of my best friends to this day. Because of our close relationship and proximity, her family and even extended family have been special connections to me for the past 25 years.

Together, we have celebrated birthdays, graduations, weddings, holidays, and baby additions into our families. We have also mourned side-by-side in saying goodbye to loved ones and furry friends. We have adjusted to moving away from one another and to growing up.

Through it all, my incredible “second family” have been a propelling part of my life. Leading the charge has been Jayna’s mom, Diane. Her love, concern and support feel like a neon welcome sign that is always beaming.

Diane’s light grew even brighter on her 60^th birthday. She celebrated this special year by requesting family and friends give gifts to Aging UP instead of to her. And of course, they all rallied in support.

The poor air-quality, due to the tragic recent fires in Butte County, required a last-minute change from an outdoor get together to an indoor one. As fate would have it, the party ended up at Diane’s house, where so many other celebrations have taken place.

As always, I felt like part of the family. However, I was overcome with gratitude and humility as person after person took me aside to make donations in honor of Diane.

Their combined generosity raised a total of $1,020! All of it will go toward helping teens from foster care build their own positive relationships and community of support.

Happy birthday Diane. And, thank you. For everything!