Zillions for The Zones 2025

The Zones made ZILLIONS in love & support on October 10^th, and raised tens of thousands of dollars from our generous community!

Zillions for The Zones: Developing the Next Generation of Teen Leaders

We are overwhelmed by the incredible show of support from our families, sponsors, friends, volunteers, and donors who came out to celebrate our high-quality, year-round enrichment programs for children and teens.

The Zones is the only community-based youth development program that serves K-12 kids in Santa Rosa. Step into our new facility on any given day and you’ll see fun and interactive activities that highlight our 5 Zones: Academics, Athletics, Creative Arts, Health & Wellness, and Workforce Development.

The Zones was built with Santa Rosa’s teen population in mind. Located directly across the street from Montgomery Jr. & Sr. High School, middle and high school students can simply cross the street to find a treasure trove of opportunities and spaces just for them including our Recording Studio, Gaming Room, and Teen Lounge.

Montgomery HS students told us what they want to see at The Zones and we’ve listened! Financial Literacy, Cooking Classes, Book Clubs, Yoga Studio, Podcasting, DJ’ing, and Career Prep are all aimed at developing the talents and interests of our young adults. YOUR donations at Zillions help make all of these opportunities FREE for all of our teen members.

The event was filled with energy and heart, and we’re so proud of the impact it made. Here are some of the highlights:

• Tours: We loved getting to show off our new spaces in our remodeled facility. The enthusiasm you brought and your ideas for what we can do with kids in our after school program and with teens were amazing!

• Silent Auction: Thank you to our community partners who donated their goods and services to make this such a successful auction: Sports Basement, The Flamingo, The Inn at Occidental, Cattlemens, Snoopy’s Home Ice, Deborah Myers Wellness, RISE Cycle & Co., Soul Yoga, Grossman’s Noshery & Bar, and 6^th Street Playhouse. 

• Guest Speakers: We were honored to have several amazing speakers including Dr. Amie Carter, County Superintendent of the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). Dr. Carter spoke of the importance of enrichment programs in the afterschool hours, and how programs like The Zones are there to provide low-cost and free opportunities for young people at a time when school budgets have been forced to cut these programs during the school day.

• We also heard from Ash Vaid from Poppy Bank, our Presenting Sponsor. Poppy was instrumental in the renovations at The Zones and has been a critical partner throughout our entire journey as we designed and began implementing our teen programming. 
  

• Nash Medders, a longtime member of The Zones gave a powerful perspectives were powerful, illustrating the real, life-changing work we’re doing. Followed them, a touching perspective was offered by Casey Williams, who spoke about how our programs he participated in as a young person made a difference in his life.

• Paddle Raise: Led by our Board Member, Club Alum, and Owner of Barrel Proof Lounge, Casey Williams, we learned what The Zones was like “back in the day” and had so much fun outbidding one another for The Flamingo stay-cation. Congratulations to Zach Bressick of Eagle Strategies who took away that prize after a fierce paddle battle! Thank you to everyone who raised a paddle for our kids and teens!

A HUGE thank you to our sponsors. Without their support, the Zillions would not have been half as successful: Poppy Bank, Sonoma Clean Power, Summit State Bank, Exchange Bank, Bank of Marin, PG&E, Columbia Bank, Eagle Strategies, and the Active 20-30 Club

Finally, an ENORMOUS thank you to our board members who sponsored tables, brought friends and colleagues, and raised their paddles and their glasses for The Zones! On this day, and every day, you are our Zillionaires! – Nate Andreassen, Kate Kelly, John Ghigliazza, Scott Hart, Casey Williams, Jesse Lentz, and Zach Bressick.