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On October 8, supporters, partners, educators, researchers and young people came together for the 12th Annual AIM Gala. The evening celebrated the people working to improve youth mental health, from scientific research that brings better care to young people to AIM Ideas Lab, where high school students study mental health in their own schools and communities. Thank you to everyone who joined us.
Take one minute to relive the night.
What AIM does and why it matters
Executive Director Jolie Delja opened the evening with two questions she hears all the time. What does AIM do, and why does it matter?
AIM invests in scientific research that brings better care to young people, including in the moments they need it most. Through AIM Ideas Lab, high school students learn skills for their own well-being and study mental health in their own schools and communities.
Why does it matter? Because innovation can help a teen get through a crisis, and prevention can help keep a crisis from starting.
Inaugural AIM Advocate for Youth Awards
This year AIM introduced the Advocate for Youth Awards to honor partners who bring AIM Ideas Lab into their school communities.
Rancho Cielo Youth Campus
Rancho Cielo Youth Campus in the Salinas Valley gives young people a path forward through education, job training and skill development. This year Rancho Cielo brought AIM Ideas Lab into the school day. Interim CEO Susie Brusa accepted the award and recognized the student leaders and John Muir Charter School staff who made the program possible.
“These experiences are transformational for our students, and we’re so grateful to be included.” — Susie Brusa
Superintendent Heath Rocha, Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District
Superintendent Heath Rocha knows that students can’t thrive in school without mental and emotional well-being. He opened wellness centers at his schools and brought AIM Ideas Lab to his students. After students completed the program, he visited every campus to hear their solutions, and he is now working to act on them.
“With [AIM Ideas Lab], schools move from promises to progress. Students carry the insight to shape their own future.” — Superintendent Heath Rocha
Impact Speaker, Drew Robinson
Drew Robinson played parts of 12 seasons in professional baseball with the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Today he is the mental health advocate for the San Francisco Giants, where he helps players and staff talk openly about mental health and use the support available to them.
Joined by his service dog, Ellie, Drew shared his own mental health journey and reminded us that strength isn’t always physical. Asking for help, he said, gave him a kind of strength he never found on the field. In conversation with Jolie, he shared the question he wishes someone had asked him before his lowest point: “No, really, how are you doing?”
“We’d all just rather hear from you than about you.” — Drew Robinson
Thank you
The AIM Gala comes together through the generosity of our partners, guests and community.
Special thanks to Unskripted Design for the florals, Liam Mayclem for serving as master of ceremonies, our winery partners, and the Gala committee and volunteers behind the evening.
Help carry this work forward
Inspired by the night? Your donation helps bring AIM Ideas Lab to more students and fund the next Clinical Science Fellows working to improve care.
If you or a young person in your life is struggling, call or text 988.
