The Save Mart Companies CARES Foundation is providing food-preparation items for 50 local youth moving out of foster care, homelessness, or the juvenile justice system through a $5,000 grant to the nonprofit Make It Happen for Yolo County.

Award-winning journalist Vicki Gonzalez interviews Make It Happen Executive Director Cathi Schmidt and Board President and Co-founder Jan Judson

MIH Board members David Croft and Marilyn Stebbins with MIH Intern Kegen Wells kick off the 2026 Guardian Scholars Move in Days.

Marilyn Stebbins (MIH Board of Directors) represented MIH at the Yolo County Child Youth and Family (CYF) Resource Fair on April 30th, 2026.

This special event celebrates the spirit of giving in Yolo County recognizing the tremendous contributions of our local community.

Twenty volunteers from the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club recently assembled 40 storage cubes for underserved teens and young adults, supporting their partnership with the nonprofit Make It Happen for Yolo County.

We are proud to introduce our new Make It Happen intern, Kegen Wells, a UC Davis Guardian Scholar and junior double majoring in psychology and linguistics.

“Make It Happen was honestly just absolutely incredible,” she said. “The sheer volume was amazing. They literally gave me every single thing I wanted – furniture, bedding, kitchen supplies, even a bike. That bike has been a lifesaver since I was having to walk from South Davis to get to class.”

After a tumultuous summer where she had to move twice in two months, Josie is finally settled in an apartment in Davis – although it is taking her heart and brain some time to catch up. 

This spring, as he neared the end of his senior year of high school, “Jeremy” was forced to make an unbearable choice: homelessness or suicide. Fortunately, he chose homelessness and quickly confided in a school staff member who found him a hotel room within days.

This resilient 18-year-old will begin his freshman year at Sacramento State this month, and we are proud to have played a small role in his journey from foster care to college student.

We feel incredibly fortunate to be part of such a generous and compassionate community—one that consistently shows up for us and for the young people we serve. The steady outpouring of support in the form of gently used furniture and household items allows us to turn empty spaces into welcoming homes, filled with warmth, comfort, and dignity.

“With Make It Happen, they were like, we’re just here to help however we can. I hope other transition age youth will take this opportunity to receive help from them. I know we don’t want to feel pitied or have people feel sorry for us, and Make It Happen doesn’t do that. They’re just super friendly and flexible and want to help. I wish there were more Make It Happens around the state and country because I just love them.”

When Faith came to UC Davis from the Los Angeles area as a former foster youth, she did not realize she was looking for more people like herself until she found them.

When her mother passed away from cancer, Kimberly became a ward of the state until her older sister could take her in. Now Kimberly wants to become an oncology physician’s assistant.

Deandre had just entered his second year at UC Davis when he discovered a wealth of resources at his fingertips.

Make It Happen for Yolo County has been proud to call UC Davis student Evelyn Aguilar our intern since fall 2022. She has been an incredible advocate for her fellow transition age youth, and we are excited that she will continue with us through her senior year that starts in the fall.

After almost ten years as an entirely volunteer based organization, we are excited to announce that we have hired our first employee.  Cathi Schmidt joined our organization this month in the role of Executive Director.

Valeri Garcia grew up in a family that always stepped up when someone needed support. It’s fitting that she too stepped up when the opportunity arose to start and grow the UC Davis Guardian Scholars program for students with foster care experience, creating an environment and support system where the students could achieve their goals.