Aging UP is a trauma-informed, strength-based mentoring program for youth with experience in foster care. Our mission is accomplished through one-to-one mentoring, positive recreation, and life skills education for 13-to-21-year-old Sacramento region youth who have current or former foster care experience.
Statistically, youth from foster care are our community's most vulnerable population. They face futures ranging from low-education attainment to long-term mental health challenges. Aging UP was founded in May 2016 by child welfare, mentoring, and nonprofit professionals who saw the unmet needs of local youth from foster care. They banded with other passionate professionals to design a unique program, intended to reduce and reverse the statistics of negative outcomes. And it's happening!
See what our Mentoring Matches are saying:
"I like that I don't feel like I'm in foster care around these people. It just feels like a group of friends. — 20-year-old mentee (matched 5 years)
"I'm so thankful to have you as one of the people that has stuck with me. …I'm glad I have someone that wants to stay." — 16-year-old mentee to mentor (matched 4 years)
"I'm a [positive] distraction. More than anything, he gets to be an 18-year-old kid and we get to go out and laugh." — Mentor (matched 9 months)
"She mentioned to me that if her past self from a year ago could see how well she is doing now, she wouldn't believe it and she thanked me for our relationship." — Mentor (matched 14 months)
Sacramento has more than 1,600 children and youth in its foster care system. They entered at no fault of their own. Approximately 10% "age out" annually. Unfortunately, too many enter adulthood in survival mode. They often lack relational support or sufficient life skills needed to become successful adults. However, research shows that the connection with a stable, caring, supportive adult helps youth heal from trauma and improves overall resiliency. Through mentoring, Aging UP helps youth from foster care thrive into adulthood!
To empower youth with experience in foster care to successfully transition into adulthood.
MENTORING MATCH SUPPORT: our growth requires hiring an additional Program staff to provide more hands-on support to serve more youth and advance our transition-age supports.
LIFE SKILLS WORKSHOPS (UPshops): funds raised allow us to hold skill-building workshops specifically for older, transition-age youth. Topics will focus on self-sufficiency, such as financial management, college/career readiness, job placement, and housing support.
EMERGENCY FUND: older youth and young adults from foster care face unique needs. As more of our teens become young adults, those needs are more common. When emergencies arise, we want to assist with unexpected costs associated with daily necessities, tuition and educational supplies, transportation, and more.
GENERAL OPERATIONS AND MARKETING: support is needed to cover overall program and administrative expenses. The specific need is to create awareness and marketing materials that help recruit mentors, volunteers, and donors.
GIFT CARDS: our volunteer mentors give their time and cover most of the costs while hanging out with their mentees. Your donation of gift cards will provide memorable moments for teens with their mentors and be given directly to youth.
Aging UP is proud to be an inclusive community committed to empowering youth with experience in foster care. We recognize that youth in foster care face significant barriers and that Black, Brown and LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in the foster care system. We also understand that trauma can negatively affect behavior and that all too often, youth in foster care get labeled unfairly, while the source of why they may act out is often unaddressed.
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.
View our current participation opportunities.
In-Person Volunteering
Discover Mentoring
TBD
Ongoing opportunity
Organization name
Aging UP
2016
Tax id (EIN)
81-3023085
Mission Category
Youth Development
Operating Budget
$100,001-$250,000
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Program, In-Kind Donations
Demographics Served
Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, Black/African American
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Local Counties Served
Sacramento
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
PO Box 293504Sacramento, CA, US