On April 21, 2026 we hosted our annual fundraising luncheon, Celebrating Our Kids, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame! We were joined by over 300 community members, donors, and partners to hear more about the mission of Alexander Youth Network and learn how they can help support the children we serve.
This year, we heard from a former client, Julien Franco, and the Alexander Youth Network staff member, Patrick Brown, that played an instrumental role on Julien’s path to healing while in our Residential Treatment Center in Greensboro. Julien courageously shared his story about how Alexander Youth Network helped him through the trauma he suffered as a young boy and gave him the tools he has today to be an independent young adult. Todd Carlson, an Alexander Youth Network board member, also shared with our guests the journey his family has had navigating the mental health care system and why our mission is so meaningful to him. Thank you for sharing your stories! We were left inspired and in awe of your courage and strength.
We were also joined by a few kids from our Charlotte Day Treatment and Psychiatric Residential Treatment programs. They greeted guests as they arrived and did a performance demonstrating what they’ve learned with our therapeutic drumming program! They had a great time getting dressed up and meeting new people. Thank you to Malik McCrimmon and Jerome Nelson for helping prepare our drummers for their performance.
We are excited to announce that this year’s event raised $1 million to support the programs and services of Alexander Youth Network. We are so grateful to everyone that attended and our staff and volunteers that made this event so successful! To see more pictures from the event, please visit the Alexander Children’s Foundation’s Facebook page.
Written by Kaitlyn Dixon
