Hi Everyone!

Over the past few months, we have taken time to reflect on how Best Day can continue to evolve as an organization and touch even more lives through storytelling. We have reached outward—attending leadership workshops and seminars through the Sarah Ralston Foundation and the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, and connecting with mentors, advisors, and peers—and inward, tapping into our board, executive committee, and task forces that bring together both leadership and volunteers. It has been energizing and eye-opening.

First, we have learned that organizational growth— the kind that creates lasting impacts on our communities— relies on the commitment of our volunteers. We are incredibly fortunate to have a volunteer team that shows up week after week to serve older adults across our region. Strengthening and expanding this volunteer ecosystem will be one of our central focuses for 2026 as we grow our core storytelling groups through the StorySpark 2026 Initiative (see below).

Second, we’ve also given more thought to where our organization fits into the ecosystem of older adult mental health and social connection. Mental health is a complex issue, but what makes Best Day unique is our ability to create meaningful change through something remarkably simple yet powerful: face-to-face storytelling. Just as our volunteers give us a boots-on-the-ground lens, the for-profit senior living communities, foundations, sponsors, and policy makers who are focused on serving older adults increasingly value Best Day’s perspective because it is grounded, personal, and deeply human. Going forward, we don’t want to hear what’s going on in the aging and mental health space, we want to be an active part of the conversation.

This is the context behind the goals we set at the start of 2026, and why we need your donation and sponsorships. To continue growing our impact, we must invest in the infrastructure needed to scale our programs, expand and support our volunteer base, and elevate our message among thought leaders, advocates, and changemakers.

We want to share the progress that we’ve made so far in reaching our 2026 goals:

Looking Ahead Together • May 2026

Goal #1: Sustainable growth and scalable impact

ACTION: StorySpark 2026

We are rebuilding and expanding our storytelling group ecosystem through an initiative called StorySpark 2026. Beginning in Fall 2026, we will launch several new storytelling groups organized into 8-week modules, each culminating in a casual showcase and celebration at its site.

The program includes four weeks of volunteer onboarding and training, after which teams of three volunteers will be matched with a senior center or community partner site. After completing a module, dedicated volunteers will have the opportunity to mentor and support future facilitators.

Phase 1 (In-Progress): Best Day is launching StorySpark in partnership with the leadership team and staff at NewCourtland, continuing a trusted relationship that has spanned more than 17 years. StorySpark will first be piloted at NewCourtland sites throughout Germantown, Philadelphia.

Phase 2 (Looking Ahead): We are developing:

• A paid Volunteer Coordinator position

• A simple, welcoming Volunteer Sign-Up System and Support Network

• A Venue Waitlist and Local Business Sponsor Network

Together, these efforts will help create a “Story Map,” allowing volunteers, sponsors, and community members to identify the neighborhoods and sites they want to support most directly.