September 1, 2026 (Saint Helena, CA) — As Napa County students return to school this fall, families can feel assured that resources are available to help them thrive. Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) announces today its investment of $1.8 million in five local nonprofits that provide wellness services on school campuses across the county.
Supporting students at school is one part of NVV’s broader focus on helping Napa Valley youth lead healthy, balanced lives. In the coming weeks, NVV will share additional announcements about grant giving to support young people after school, at home and throughout the community.
This round of grants will support local, non-profit organizations including Mentis, Napa Valley Education Foundation, Aldea, On The Move and UpValley Family Centers. Together, these partners bring different areas of expertise to on-campus wellness centers, creating a coordinated network of care for students. The centers offer everything from a quiet place to reset during the school day to counseling, peer support and connections to additional resources.
Because schools are where students spend most of their time, it is often where early warning signs are first recognized.
“We tend to be their first form of contact with a trusted adult, and students feel comfortable telling us what’s going on in their lives. We can then provide students with the support they need,” said Jessica De Leon, a Youth Outreach Coordinator with On The Move at the Wellness Center at New Tech High School.
Today, 55% of Napa County public high school students use an on-campus wellness center, demonstrating how integral these resources have become to student life.
For students like Vanessa, who as an NVUSD freshman was struggling academically, feeling isolated and losing her sense of belonging, regular check-ins with a youth outreach coordinator helped her build friendships, attend class and eventually seek therapy. By her senior year, she was bringing other freshman into the center and sharing what the space had meant to her. She told them, “This place saved me when I was exactly where you are.”
Since 1981, funds raised through Auction Napa Valley have enabled Napa Valley’s vintner community to invest in Napa Valley’s children and families. To date, NVV has given $245 million back to the Napa Valley community.
Grant Recipients Include:
Mentis: $400,000grant, lifetime total NVV funding $7.6 million since 1998, 28 years of partnership. Mentis focuses on mental health. They provide group discussions, coping tools and therapy for 2,000 middle and high school students each year, character-building programs for NVUSD seventh-graders and training about suicide warning signs.
Napa Valley Education Foundation (NVEF): $400,000 grant, lifetime total NVV funding $6.2 million since 2019, 8 years of partnership. NVEF supports student success. They support mental health screenings for 16,000 students annually, help operate on-campus Wellness Centers that see 250 students daily across seven campuses and engage 350 school staff in training conferences.
Aldea: $400,000 grant, lifetime total NVV funding $11 million since 1996, 30 years working together. Aldea provides behavioral health services. Their programs address substance use, provide mental health services for children in foster care and support for young adults transitioning out of foster care.
On the Move: $400,000 grant, lifetime NVV funding $7.2 million since 2004, 22 years of partnership. On The Move mobilizes youth to take action. Youth outreach coordinators engage students through peer support, wellness education and activities that foster connection. They also help create welcoming, inclusive spaces where students feel seen and heard.
Up Valley Family Centers (UVFC): $200,000 grant, lifetime NVV funding $5.9 million since 2004, 22 years of partnership. UVFC helps operate student wellness centers on school campuses in the northern part of Napa Valley. They coordinate wellness programs at school, referrals for students, run prevention-focused groups for teens and provide parenting support.
About Napa Valley Vintners
The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its nearly 530 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, provide environmental leadership and care for the extraordinary place they call home. NVV has invested more than $245 million in community healthcare, youth development and the environment in Napa County. Learn more at collectivenapavalley.org.
