Wyman’s 2025 Amplify Gala is over, and what an incredible evening we had – amplifying youth voice, celebrating incredible honorees, and connecting with our community of supporters.
The gala was filled with amazing moments and powerful reflections we would like to share with you.
Highlights
Highlights from the evening included an incredible keynote speech from Wyman Alumni, Board Member, and 2025 Honoree Jalen Mathis. In his speech, Jalen reminded us about the true power of connections.
“Some people come into your life to challenge you. Some come to teach you. And a few – just a few – will reflect who you truly are…
That’s the power of Wyman. They didn’t just help me dream – they helped me build the bridge to get there. Through mentorship. Through strategy. Through accountability, love, and belief.”
We were also excited to honor three alumni and two community partners for their extraordinary commitment to young people.
“Each of these honorees lives out Wyman’s mission of building strong connections, being of service to others, and helping young people thrive,” says Allison Williams, Wyman’s President and CEO. “This is exemplified in their work with Wyman, as well as how they show up as community members who care about this region.”
You can read more about these honorees here.
Our Reflections
We want to leave you with three takeaways from our 2025 Amplify Gala and hope you will use these as inspiration and motivation to continue your support of young people in our community.
First, the secret sauce of Wyman’s work with teens – and the secret sauce for each of us as humans – is connection.
Our recent two-time Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, prioritized conversations around mental health and connections. He called for a national public health movement to battle the epidemic of loneliness, which has deepened across our country, and issued an advisory on the teen mental health crisis. These actions have informed Wyman’s work in recent years.
Dr. Murthy’s parting action was a prescription for America: the “triad of fulfillment” – relationships, service, and a sense of purpose – which lie at the heart of our health and happiness. More and more research links this triad to higher educational and career success, lower risks of health challenges, and stronger mental health.
Connections and relationships are fundamental to our collective well-being. They are the path through which we learn not only about others, but about ourselves. Through service, we take actions to benefit others, and we grow along the way. Lastly, purpose is having a “life aim”, an overarching “why” for doing what we do.
In interviews with program alumni to understand Wyman’s long-term impact, these three themes arise again and again as anchors in all three of our programs.
Second, #YouMatter
One of the curriculum lessons in our Teen Connection Project is #YouMatter. It’s a lesson in giving and accepting gratitude, and how this can strengthen our connections with one another. Teens choose someone to whom they’d like to express gratitude, create something that allows them to do this, share it with the individual, and report back to their TCP group. Time after time, teens are amazed at the impact they’ve had. And, more importantly, they deepen an important supportive relationship.
By partnering with Wyman with the precious gift of your time, your support, and your treasure – and by being champions for teens at a critical time in their lives and our society – #YouMatter.
Additionally, May is Youth Mental Health Month, and we want ALL teens to know that they matter. Check back with us as we get closer to May to find out ways you can support and connect with the teens in your life and community.
Third, the moment is NOW.
Alerts around teen mental health challenges, the crisis of connections, and continued educational inequities abound. But you have an opportunity to make a difference.
By investing in Wyman, you help ensure our three proven programs – Wyman Leaders, Teen Outreach Program, and Teen Connection Project – are accessible to teens.
By investing in Wyman, you invest in and partner with the nearly 30,000 young people who will be receiving our programs this school year.
By investing in Wyman, you stand with us in our belief that all young people possess the talent and potential to succeed and lead, need healthy connections with caring adults and peers, and deserve quality educational and life experiences, unencumbered by economic and systemic barriers.
Watch this video from Wyman’s President and CEO Allison Williams to hear more about these takeaways!
Thank you
Finally, we would like to thank all our 2025 Amplify Gala sponsors who made the evening possible, and who all have a deep commitment to supporting the young people in our community.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our Expand Level Gala Sponsors Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Harvey Wallace & Madeleine Elkins, and John Sandberg & Celeste Vossmeyer for their generosity and unwavering support of Wyman teens.
And thank YOU for joining us as champions and partners to connect teens to their voices, their strengths, and their futures through proven programs and supports.