The American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) is the only national resource in the United States dedicated to supporting all children aged 18 and under who are caring for chronically ill, injured, elderly, or disabled family members.
Stakeholder Newsletter | First Quarter | January 2023

As we kick off the new year, I want to thank you, our friends, supporters, and funding partners. Because of you, we continue to directly serve Caregiving Youth in 35 Palm Beach County middle and high schools and students in 22 other local middle and high schools, and we are still expanding! 

2023 is going to be a very ambitious year for AACY. We've set big goals, and with your help and others yet to join aboard, we will achieve them. 

We are pressing the accelerator on direct service reach in Florida, US legislative efforts, local and national partnerships, and affiliate expansion. We have served as the only voice for all caregiving youth in the United States for over 16 years now, and It's time to grow. 

Here's to a successful New Year and fulfilling big dreams for the kids in 2023! Thank you again for all your support and love.
PS: I hope you'll consider sponsoring or joining us for our Caregiving Champions Awards Breakfast on Friday, April 14, 2023. We'll send you information and an official invitation soon! Also, planning is in the works for a new, fun event called Bingo on the Brightline Sunday, February 19, 2023. Please mark your calendars for this unique one-time adventure! Details are coming soon.
| AACY Holiday Party

We are sharing a few of the many fabulous photos from the AACY Annual December Holiday Party, serving a joyful sea of about 400 individuals. It is only made possible by many, including the Safe Schools Institute, volunteers, and donors, including gifts for Caregiving Youth, regiftables from many, a clothing boutique, warm food from Broken Sound Club, and beverages from Pepsico. A highlight was a raffle of 30 bikes from the Boca Raton Elks Lodge 2166. 

As you know, this annual event positively impacts our caregiving students, especially during this family season. Your time, gifts, donations, and presence made many very special kids happy. 

Not only is the holiday season celebrated with good food, presents, and friendship, but more importantly, the students in our program feel the community recognition for their contribution to their families. 

Recognition fortifies pride and self-worth in their accomplishments and acknowledges that they are not alone in their caregiving journey.
 “Ouch! Accidents happened, Connie walked into the trailer hitch of a U-haul when moving donated items for the AACY Holiday Party. What a blessing to have help from Brady Bloom, our 2021 Caregiving Youth Project alumnus and Downtown Rotary Scholar. Brady was volunteering to help set up the party, so he got his First Aid kit and took care of Connie. Thank you, Brady!
| H.Con.Res.114 - 117th Congress (2021-2022) - Passed

History was made on behalf of the Caregiving Youth movement in November 2022. The Congress of the United States formally recognized Caregiving Youth for the first time. Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL-21), Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) successfully introduced a resolution designating the week of November 13-19, 2022, as National Caregiving Youth Week to recognize the efforts and sacrifices of youth under 18 caring for a loved one. Co-Sponsoring Representatives from the following states include California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and North Carolina.

The Resolution:
  • Supports the designation of National Caregiving Youth Week;
  • Recognizes caregiving youth in the United States as an underserved and underrecognized population;
  • Encourages educators, policymakers, health care professionals, and more to become more familiar with the work, needs, and contributions of caregiving youth; and
  • Supports Federal initiatives to provide up-to-date nationwide research on caregiving youth.
AACY was honored to attend Representative Barbara Lee’s 118th Congress Open House at the Rayburn House Office Building on the opening day of the 118th Congress. We sent former Caregiving Youth Charlie and A.J. Poole to attend the event and deliver Certificates of Appreciation to participating representatives' offices to thank them for Co-Sponsoring H.Con.Res.114.
| GAO Survey - In Process

Last issue, we announced that Congresswoman Lois Frankel - along with Reps. Barbara Lee (CA) and Bobby Scott (VA) recommended to the GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office ) to conduct a national study on the prevalence and impacts of caregiving by youth was accepted. The GAO provides Congress, the heads of executive agencies, and the public with timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can be used to improve government and save taxpayers billions of dollars. The significance of this is that once the GAO study is complete, we can use that data to expedite dollars and programs to benefit over 5.4 million caregiving youth in the country. Now that the study is approved, we are waiting on a start date and working to expedite the process.
| Caregiving Youth Week Declared in Palm Beach County

Thank you to County Mayor Robert Weinroth and Council members for creating the first - Caregiving Youth Week in Palm Beach County during National Family Caregivers Month! These giving, compassionate students deserve this special recognition - as do all family caregivers!
| New Team Member | Kristen Cruz - Director, Development & Events:

Kristen has lived in Palm Beach County since 2003 and quickly became immersed in the community during her ten years as a Communications Director at the American Heart Association, where she played a vital role in not only media relations and social media but also all high-level corporate and patron sponsorships.

Following her years at the American Heart Association, Kristen was voted into multiple volunteer leadership positions associated with Florida PTA. Kristen joins us to focus on our event, fundraising, and local development efforts for AACY. Kristen can be reached at kristen@aacy.org. Please connect with her on anything you need in regard to events, fundraising, or development!
| New support for Communications & Marketing | Sara Poole, Co-Chair, AACY Advisory Council

Sara Poole, from McLean, VA, just outside of Washington, D.C., has been brought on board as a short-term consultant to help us behind the scenes, focusing on our marketing communications, national development, policy, and partnership initiatives. She's been working to support Connie and AACY on a volunteer basis since 2017 and has broad experience in business building, strategic transformations, product development, corporate communications, and marketing. She's also the mom of Charlie and A.J. Poole, who often advocate for AACY and are former Caregiving Youth.

Sara can be reached at poole.sara@gmail.com or connect with her via LinkedIn here.
| AACY Attends Elizabeth Dole Foundation's 2022 Heroes & History Makers Celebration:

AACY attended the Elizabeth Dole Foundation's 2022 Heroes & History Makers Celebration. This year, the event featured Hidden Helpers, a movement to honor and support America's hidden heroes and military caregiver kids. The American Association of Caregiving Youth is a member of the Hidden Helpers Coalition. It's absolutely awesome that resources are being developed for this specific population of kids. We are hopeful that through this initiative and others, we can continue to build similar resources for all caregiving youth in the United States. Dr. Connie T. Siskowski, Sara Poole, Hannah Hutler-Boyd, Program Manager, Hidden Helpers, and members of the Wounded Warriors Project, also Foundation partners, are pictured. 
| New Video - Community Initiative Provides Critical Support for Student Caregivers:
Many thanks to The School District of Palm Beach County for creating a new video on our program | "Thousands of secondary students in Palm Beach County, and millions nationally, are responsible for the care of an ill or elderly family member. The American Association of Caregiving Youth offers support at school and at home."
FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS | Link Here
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published an article on Caregiving Youth. | FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS | JANUARY 11 2023 | Recognize and Support Caregiving Youth in Your Care | Mandy Rivera; Brianna Bliss, MS, PsyD; Connie Siskowski, RN, PhD; Julia Belkowitz, MD, MPH/

AAP is an organization of 67,000 pediatricians committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.​ 
OPINION: Why the U.S. must recognize and support caregiving students in middle and high schools | Many children and adolescents are responsible for disabled, chronically ill or aging family | by EMMA ARMSTRONG-CARTER | Link Here

"Middle and high schoolers juggle a lot between school, friends, and family life. But an estimated one in five have even bigger responsibilities — they are also caregivers for their families, at a time when most U.S. schools do not formally identify or support caregiving students."
Here are a few ways you can support AACY!
  • Attend our upcoming events
  • Become a corporate sponsor
  • Make a donation to honor a loved one and put their name on the American Association of Caregiving Youth Wall of Recognition. This makes a great present.
  • Share AACY News with your legislators and representatives.
  • Invite the AACY team to educate others in your life and/or work.
  • Shop on Amazon! Please consider signing up for the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) when you shop on Amazon! Select AACY as your charitable organization, and Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. Sign up today at smile.amazon.com 
  • Donate HERE
  • Check out our Wishlist!
  • Donate to our laptops for students fund. We hope to be able to purchase laptops for students who do not have the privilege of taking them home and completing their homework. Your gift is 100% tax-deductible!
  • Please follow us on social media. It is especially helpful to comment on our posts on LinkedIn. When you comment on an AACY post - your comment will show up to others in your LinkedIn Network and potentially help us get additional quality followers and donors. Even posting an emoji helps!
We would like to recognize Cariloop, the Caregiver Support company that pairs caregivers and their families with dedicated Care Coaches as they plan for and manage the health and well-being of their loved ones. Cariloop amplifies AACY's mission and provides the organization and staff members with additional resources to support Caregiving Youth and their families. Cariloop provided major sponsorship of AACY's "Hearts and Soles" Gala in 2022, for which we are very thankful.

We look forward to further developing the relationship in 2023 and creating additional services to bring awareness to Caregiving Youth's unique challenges on a national level.
“Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.” - Margaret Mead.
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