The annual “Endless Summer” fundraiser, which takes its name from the quintessential 60s surf film, was created after the pandemic in 2023 by Los Gatos Morning Rotary to benefit Counseling And Support Services for Youth. CASSY is a nonprofit founded in 2009 that provides mental health services to Bay Area students and is known locally for its work at Los Gatos High School.
Rotary clubs are a global network of volunteers who donate their time and skills to support humanitarian projects, promote peace and improve local communities. CASSY supports and counsels young people and their parents free of charge, and on campus. It was natural for these two non-profit agencies to collaborate. At this year’s event an emcee was added—former KBAY Morning Show host Lissa Kreisler. She knows how to raise funds while making sure everyone has a good time.
On campus counseling services
During the Covid-19 pandemic, this need for mental health services was heightened. “Kids are still hurting. Mental health issues are now the primary reason children and teens are hospitalized in Santa Clara County,” notes a page on CASSY’s website. “The Children’s Hospital Association and others warn us, the youth mental health crisis is not over.” Seeing this need here in town, the Los Gatos Morning Rotary began organizing the Endless Summer Friday event—with all proceeds going to CASSY.
This year’s edition featured the Summit Sisters and the Hitmen providing live, danceable music at Town Plaza Park. The crowd sure got into the spirit on this pleasant evening. Therapists say that dance and movement is good for your psyche. So, why not stay mentally healthy and dance?
(Dinah Cotton / Los Gatan)
Something for everyone
There were interactive carnival-style games for kids, rock-painting, beach balls to try to climb over—and more. Plus, there was pizza and shaved ice. CASSY offered additional arty activities and kid-friendly outdoor fun, free of charge. The Plaza was packed with a cross-section of the local community, from students, to families with young children, to empty-nesters and seniors. People of every age—and stage—rallied together to make an impact for youth.
“Endless Summer is like a slice of joy served up to the community,” said local resident and CASSY development manager Amy Gibson.
Funding cut
At the Aug. 4 meeting of the Los Gatos Town Council, the body voted to cut the requested annual $10,000 grant to CASSY in half. Council’s decision was related to Los Gatos High Schools terminating its contract with CASSY for the 2025-26 school year. Other counseling and support resources are still available on LGHS campus.
Some say this transition away from CASSY was positive, as the new approach will help the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District develop its own model. As LGHS moved toward District-provided services, there could be more consistency, as mental health supports are integrated into the daily life of students, the thinking goes. An important part of this model is to be there to help students before the situation escalates. On-site mental health care has been shown to be beneficial, and students can self-refer themselves, or be referred by teachers or coaches.
CASSY served 27 residents this year, just under half of the number of residents it served in its final year at LGHS, Gibson said.
Meanwhile, LGHS’s Wellness Center has grown. It now serves nearly half of students annually and provides on-site therapy, peer support and mental health programming, and offers welcoming spaces designed with student input, for students that may benefit from a chill area.
In January 2026, after five years as executive director, Marico Sayoc accepted a role in local government, and stepped down from her position with CASSY. The former Los Gatos mayor now manages office operations, strategy and intergovernmental affairs for Santa Clara County District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga. Applications are being accepted for her prior job.
“While CASSY is no longer at the Town’s anchor high school, CASSY remains committed to serving its Los Gatos residents by continuing its over-a-decade partnership at Leigh and Westmont high schools,” said Mary Gloner, CASSY’s interim executive director. CASSY is also partnering with St. Mary School in Gilroy, serving TK–8 grade students. During these times of significant change, CASSY continues to find ways to support students to manage anxiety and other mental health issues.
Teen stress
“For four years running, anxiety has been the number one issue the students we serve are experiencing, dwarfing all other mental health concerns,” said Gloner. “As Surgeon General Vivek Murthy noted, it will take a ‘whole-of-society effort’ to support the mental well-being of our youth.
“We’re so grateful for the way Los Gatos Morning Rotary has embraced that charge, in this beautiful, community-wide show of support for young people in our local schools.”
Morning Rotary comes through
Los Gatos Morning Rotary has decades of experience in planning by-community, for-community events. Since admission to Endless Summer is free, it’s the local businesses and other sponsors who make the fundraiser possible. Key figures behind this year’s gathering include Lisa Sieber, Endless Summer event chair, Ginger Taylor McDonald, from Los Gatos Morning Rotary, along with Gibson, and countless Morning Rotary volunteers.
Dance and donate
Sieber says she believes in nonprofit organizations that build trust with students—especially at the high school level. “This experience deepened my commitment to youth mental health and the importance of early intervention during these pivotal developmental stages,” she Sieber.
Experts with the American Psychological Association, the Children’s Hospital Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all agree that the youth mental health crisis is ongoing. And depression and anxiety are on the rise among young people. A national survey shows anxiety in children and adolescents rose from 7.1% in 2016 to 10.6% in 2022, while depression jumped from 3.2% to 4.6% during that period.
A party to lessen anxiety
As observed during the Endless Summer event, MC Kreisler explained to the audience about the work that CASSY does. This well-known radio personality has the knack for raising funds for nonprofits. Her effervescent personality leads donors to give and dancers to move.
CASSY has partnered with schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties to provide professional, on-campus mental health services to students and their families free of charge for nearly two decades.
For more info on CASSY’s 16-year partnership with LGHS and the transition to in-house services, check out their 2023 Impact Report. And for more details of CASSY’s decade-long partnership with CUHSD at Leigh and Westmont High Schools, take a look at its 2025 Impact Report.
In speaking with McDonald I learned that Los Gatos Morning Rotary Rotary is part of a global network of more than a million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers seeking to make a difference across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. And is exactly what I saw happen at the Endless Summer evening on Friday.
And it couldn’t have happened without the help of some amazing live musicians and the Los Gatos Morning Rotary—not to mention the town’s enthusiastic dancers
For more info: cassybayarea.org
