A Night That Ignited Impact

What happens when hundreds of people gather because they believe young people can change the world?

At Youthlinc’s 2026 Annual Benefit, the answer was unmistakable: generosity becomes opportunity, connection becomes momentum, and a room full of people becomes a force for good.

More than 360 guests joined us for an unforgettable evening celebrating Youthlinc’s mission to create lifetime humanitarians. Behind the scenes, more than 80 volunteers gave their time and energy to make it possible-welcoming guests, coordinating the silent auction, supporting the program, and handling the countless details required to bring an event of this scale to life.

The evening was brought to life by speakers who shared different dimensions of Youthlinc’s impact.

Dae Peterson, a Youthlinc alum, opened the program and set the tone for a night centered on gratitude and service. Board Chair Jackie Hibbard welcomed our community and reflected on the people whose generosity and commitment sustain Youthlinc’s work.

Fran shared a powerful perspective shaped by her experiences in both Youthlinc’s Service Year and Real Life programs, illustrating how service can influence not only the people being served, but also the young people who step forward to serve. Sam and Lindsee invited us into their family’s Youthlinc story, offering a moving reminder that the impact of these experiences reaches beyond one participant and can shape entire families.

Together, their stories demonstrated something statistics alone cannot capture: Youthlinc experiences stay with people. They influence how young people see themselves, how they understand others, and how they choose to participate in their communities long after a single year or international experience has ended.

But the numbers from the evening are also worth celebrating.

With the generosity of our guests-and a matching commitment from Youthlinc’s Board of Directors-we secured funding for more than 120 future humanitarians.

That means more than 120 young people will have the opportunity to serve locally, develop leadership skills, build meaningful relationships across cultures, and discover their own capacity to make a difference.

That is the real impact of the evening.

This year’s theme, Ignite Impact, reflects something we see throughout every Youthlinc program: one experience can light a spark, but that spark rarely ends with one person or one project.

A young person who learns to serve becomes an adult who continues to serve. A student who discovers their voice becomes a leader who helps others find theirs. A relationship formed across cultures can change how someone understands the world for the rest of their life.

That is why an investment in Youthlinc is never simply an investment in a trip or a single year of programming. It is an investment in the kind of people our communities-and our world-need more of.

We are especially grateful to our Platinum Sponsors, Merrick Bank and Woodbury Corporation, whose extraordinary generosity helped make the evening possible. We also extend our sincere appreciation to every event sponsor whose support covered the hard costs of the Annual Benefit, allowing the funds raised that evening to go directly toward Youthlinc programming.

We are grateful to every guest who attended, every business and individual who contributed to the silent auction, every volunteer who worked behind the scenes, and every person who chose to invest in the next generation of humanitarians.

Most of all, we are grateful for the community that has sustained Youthlinc for 26 years.

The 2026 Annual Benefit was more than a successful event. It was a declaration of confidence in young people and in their ability to create meaningful, lasting change.

Because of you, more than 120 young people will have the chance to discover that service is not merely something they do.

It can become part of who they are.

Thank you for helping us ignite that impact.