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When we celebrate Thanksgiving, it is pretty easy to think of and list at least three things to be thankful for.

In case it's not on your list, this year, I am asking you to include the opportunity to be a family caregiver on your list of thankfulness.

Why? Because being a Caregiving Youth, especially one with support from our AACY team, you are learning life skills, compassion, and empathy that your non-caregiver friends do not experience.

These skills and qualities will help form you into becoming an even more awesome and successful adult! We treasure you today and tomorrow!

We’re here for you!

Greetings, CYP Friends!

November has been an active and inspiring month for our Family Specialists, you, and your families. This month is especially meaningful as we celebrate National Caregivers Month, including a National Caregiving Youth Week (Nov. 10–16) designated just for you, along with one of our favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.

Thanks to the support of our community partners, private donors, and volunteers, AACY was able to make this year's Thanksgiving extra special. Several of you and your families received meaningful support, including home deliveries of holiday items that helped brighten your celebrations.

Our November Lunch and Learn sessions focused on two important health topics: diabetes and visual impairment. Medical students from FAU led a fun, hands-on activity with our middle school students, helping you better understand your daily sugar intake from common foods and drinks and explore healthier alternatives.

We wrapped up the month by gearing up for one of our biggest events of the year, the AACY Holiday Party. We cannot wait to celebrate with you and your family as we come together for a festive and memorable time. We look forward to seeing you all.

Keep shining. The world needs your light.

Warmly,

The Caregiving Youth Project Team

When you help care for someone at home, knowing about health conditions like diabetes and vision problems can make a big difference. Understanding these topics can help you notice changes, make safer choices, and feel more confident supporting your family while also taking care of yourself.

Join us for our Annual Holiday Party. We are excited to spend this special day with you. All students in the Caregiving Youth Project and their families are invited to the Safe Schools Institute in Boca Raton on Saturday, December 20.

Get ready for an afternoon filled with holiday cheer, including karaoke, sing-alongs, trivia, dinner, gifts for the family, and plenty of time to mingle and make memories with friends.

If you haven't registered yet for the Holiday Party, please contact your family specialist.

Contact your Family Specialist or email amoy@aacy.org to sign up! Who’s gonna win?!

We're here to support you on your caregiving journey. We'll share fun and educational content, inspiring stories from caregivers who are students or people around the world who are trying to help, and reminders that you're not alone. Thank you for all that you do for your family.

Noah is an amazing new member of AACY’s Caregiving Youth Project. He is a 6th grader at Lake Shore Middle School! He is mature and has a great personality. He helps take care of his little brother, Shiloh, who suffers from chronic lung disease and recently recovered from heart complications as well.

Noah can articulately describe how he assists with his brother’s tracheotomy tube and other caregiving tasks, and he is very optimistic about improvement in his brother’s health. He looks forward to participating in activities with the Caregiving Youth Project, and we look forward to supporting him in his caregiving journey!

National Family Caregivers Month is ending, but the support around you continues. Well Beings is helping shine a light on what Caregiving Youth do, and in their latest clip, they specifically recognize kids under 18 who care for family members at home. They are inviting Caregiving Youth to share their stories through photos, videos, or short reflections so more people can understand your experiences.



If you choose to share your story, please use #ShareYourCaregivingStory, #CaregivingYouth, and #KidsAreCaregiversToo, and send a quick note to your Family Specialist so we know you shared it.

Click Here to Learn More and Share Your Story.

This month, AACY hosted the Caregiving Youth Institute Conference, “Putting Caregiving Youth on the Map,” at the Safe Schools Institute. The event brought together teachers, doctors, researchers, social workers, and community leaders from across the country to learn about the needs of Caregiving Youth and discuss ways to better support them. While the conference featured many expert presentations, the most powerful moments came from the young people who know this issue best. Current and former Caregiving Youth shared their stories and helped everyone understand what caregiving looks like in real life.

Pranay Reddy Gadikota spoke about caring for his great-grandmother, who has dementia, and how these experiences shaped the op-ed he wrote for the Florida Times-Union.

Omarion Calloway discussed More Than Survival: A Guideline for Young Caregivers and why he created it to help other youth feel understood and supported.

Students from AACY’s Caregiving Youth Project also joined a panel to talk about what caregiving looks like in their everyday lives and the support that helps them stay balanced at home and in school.

When Caregiving Youth speak openly about their experiences, they help more people understand the challenges and strengths involved in the care they provide. Their voices are building awareness and support for the millions of young people caring for family members across the country.

Hidden Helpers are young people in military or veteran families who help care for a parent, sibling, or loved one at home.

At the Caregiving Youth Institute Conference, the CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation shared a special message recognizing Hidden Helpers and all Caregiving Youth for the important responsibilities they carry, and we gave a copy of this letter to the Hidden Helpers in our Caregiving Youth Project so they can see this support for themselves.

This month, something important happened for Caregiving Youth across the country. Two members of Congress, Lois Frankel and María Elvira Salazar, worked together to officially recognize National Caregiving Youth Week from November 10 to 16. This decision helps more people learn about the more than six million kids and teens who care for family members at home.

For many students, caregiving is a big part of life, but it is often not talked about or understood. This national recognition helps teachers, doctors, and leaders pay more attention to what Caregiving Youth need to stay healthy, do well in school, and feel supported.

What this means for you:

National Caregiving Youth Week shows that people in our country are beginning to understand your experiences and the responsibilities you manage every day. It is a step toward better support and greater awareness for all Caregiving Youth.

We are proud to share that Rimbatara “Neo” Neomardhika has won the 2025 Leon David Simmons Caregivers Award, presented by Caregivers Outreach Mentorship Empowerment Inc. (C.O.M.E.), an organization based in the Bronx, New York. The award honors family caregivers whose dedication and compassion make a meaningful difference at home and in their communities.

Neo was recognized for the care he provides his father after a stroke and for the way he speaks up for other young people who are caregiving. His seven-part Instagram video journal offers an honest look at what caregiving can feel like for students balancing school, family responsibilities, and daily life. He continues to create videos that help other Caregiving Youth feel seen and understood.

His work can be found at @neosunivrse

Additional Recognition

Neo’s award and advocacy were also featured by Bayside Highlights, his high school’s publication, which noted that “Neo embodies the kind of quiet dignity we come across only a few times over the course of our lives.”

Read the feature:

https://sites.google.com/view/baysidehighlights/students/students25-26/student13-neo-rimbatara-neomardhika?authuser=0

Neo’s recognition shows that the work Caregiving Youth do every day is real, important, and worth paying attention to.

For many families who are caregiving, the time and energy needed for shopping and holiday meal preparation can feel out of reach. This year, AACY worked to make things a little easier. With help from community partners, private donors, and volunteers, several of our families received home deliveries of Thanksgiving items that helped brighten their holiday.

The support also brought wider awareness. WPTV highlighted the work in a story about Palm Beach County’s youngest caregivers, noting that AACY’s school-based program now supports nearly 700 students. The segment featured Shuceria Alexander, who shared how her daughter, Jasmine, plays an important role in caring for her.

We are grateful to everyone who helped make the season a bit lighter for our Caregiving Youth and their families.

Join us and spread the word! To participate in our program, Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) participants must reside in Palm Beach County and can be referred through personal outreach, recommendations from school staff, or other organizations. Our support is provided both at school and in the home.

If you are a Caregiving Youth or know someone who is, but they don't live in Palm Beach County, please encourage them to email us at info@aacy.org. We are committed to helping them find resources, no matter where they reside in the United States.

988 Crisis Hotline

We at AACY believe that prioritizing mental health is a year-round endeavor. When you're having a difficult time, it's important to seek help. Thankfully, there is a new phone resource available no matter where you are in the US!: Just dial the 9-8-8 hotline.

This hotline is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Don't suffer in silence - get help and keep hope alive.