If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis - View Crisis Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis - View Crisis Resources

We want to thank everyone who joined us for an evening dedicated to mental health, family strength, and brighter futures for our youth and communities.

Date & Time

Sunday
October 11, 2026 
 5:30 – 10:00 PM 

(VIP Hour: 5:00-6:00PM) 

Location

Kimpton Sawyer Hotel
500 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814 
Magnolia Ballroom

Theme

This year's gala theme is Illumination. 
Please incorporate anything that represents illumination!

Attire

Black-Tie Optional / Formal.
Men: Tuxedo or a suit, Women: Floor-length gown encouraged or a formal cocktail dress.

SAVE's 2026 Gala

A Night of Light  marks SAVE Family Foundation’s inaugural gala, launching a tradition that will spotlight a different one of our five Areas of Focus. This year, we are focusing on mental health awareness and access.

Our Donate a Therapy Program

Over the past year and a half, our work has centered on mental health access, direct care, specialized offerings, and training the next generation of licensed therapists. Through our partnerships with community organizations and the state, we’ve seen the same gap surface again and again: care gets discontinued, or a client’s needs evolve and require more specialized support, and in that transition, access is lost.

As clinicians, we know how costly that disruption is. For someone already navigating a vulnerable moment, losing care right as it starts to help doesn’t just pause progress; it can undo it, deepening the cycles of hardship we’re working to break.

Seeing this gap firsthand, as a family, we decided to take agency the best way we know how: by filling it directly. Donate a Therapy is our first step. We’re continuing our active therapy work and clinician training, with plans to bring on more partners in mental health access down the line, but we wanted to start here, with one focused program built to create real, measurable impact.

Tonight, our goal is to fund 750 therapy sessions, $150,000 in direct care. Each session funded is represented by a lantern, given out to guests throughout the evening as a tangible symbol of the care they’ve made possible. Every VIP ticket includes one lantern to start, with more opportunities to earn lanterns through fundraising and activities throughout the night. At the close of the evening, we’ll do something special with every lantern collected, a celebration of the light we’ve created together, and the reason this is A Night of Light.

Keynote Speaker and Awardees



Darrell Steinberg, J.D.

Darrell Steinberg, J.D.

Former Mayor of Sacramento and President pro Tempore of the California Senate

Devika Bhushan, MD

Devika Bhushan, MD

Former Acting Surgeon General of California


Cami Nelsen

Cami Nelsen

Founder and CEO of The RecoverED Project


Raley's

Raley's

Partnership

Partnership

Thank you Gala Sponsors!



Light Bearer Sponsors -  $50,000



Guiding Light Sponsors - $10,000



Lantern Sponsors - $5,000



Friend of Light Sponsors - $2,500

Thank you Gala in-kind donors!

Let Your Art Be the Light

As part of A Night of Light, we’re inviting local artists to submit an original piece for our gala art exhibition. Whether you’d like to auction your work, simply showcase it, or compete for a prize, we welcome creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels to take part.

This year’s theme is Illumination, we’d love to see how art has illuminated your own mental health journey, in whatever way that means to you. Every artist who submits with sincere effort will be recognized; select pieces will also be entered into a juried competition and auction, with proceeds supporting SAVE’s mission.

Art Theme: Illumination