AACY Caregiving Youth Champions’ Brunch
You’re Invited:
Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Caregiving Youth Project
Sunday, November 1, 2026
Broken Sound Club
11:30 AM Reception
12:00 PM Program
Event Co-Chairs: Ellyn Okrent and Neil Saffer
Join us as we kick off National Family Caregivers Month and celebrate 20 years of a community taking action for Caregiving Youth!
AACY’s team built the Caregiving Youth Project (CYP), with the School District of Palm Beach County opening the door for the program in its schools. Foundations, scholarship partners, donors, volunteers, families, and other community supporters have helped sustain and strengthen that work over the past 20 years.
TICKETS, TABLES, TRIBUTES & SPONSORSHIPS
Why This Matters
Every day, Caregiving Youth balance school and growing up with responsibilities usually carried by adults.
In 2006, AACY launched the Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) in one Palm Beach County middle school – the first program in the United States created specifically to identify and directly support middle and high school students who provide ongoing care for someone with a chronic health condition, physical limitation, mental health need, disability, or frailty due to aging, regardless of the age or diagnosis of the person they care for.
CYP meets students where they are – at school, at home, and through year-round programming, all at no cost to participating youth and their families.
CYP Impact at a Glance
- First in the United States
- 700+ students supported today
- Formal in-school programming in 44 Palm Beach County middle and high schools, plus students enrolled from additional schools
- 3,000+ Caregiving Youth and their families served
- 5.5 years average student participation
- 98.3% high school graduation rate across the past 12 graduating classes
Today, the impact of CYP extends beyond Palm Beach County. Research involving CYP students and families, along with AACY’s education, advocacy, partnerships, and experience with school-based support, is helping communities across the country better recognize and support Caregiving Youth.
Celebrate With Us – Near or Far
Whether you join us at Broken Sound Club or participate from somewhere else, there are several ways to be part of this milestone.
Anniversary sponsorships and gifts provide unrestricted support to advance AACY’s mission, helping sustain the Caregiving Youth Project in Palm Beach County while strengthening AACY’s national work.
If CYP has been part of your life, we’d love to hear from you. Please send memories or photos from your CYP experience to julie@aacy.org. Julie is also available for questions about tickets, sponsorships, or the event.
WITH GRATITUDE TO OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY SUPPORTERS
Arline and John McNally
Connie and Gary Siskowski
Florida Power & Light Company
Jan Savarick
Dr. Julie Belkowitz and Nancy Belkowitz
Schmidt Family Foundation
Join the growing circle of community champions making this milestone possible. Leadership sponsorships, tables, and tributes remain available.
Read the Caregiving Youth Project 20th Anniversary Press Briefing
