Client News

Pep Rally Gala Teams All Fired Up to Benefit Martin County Seniors and Meals on Wheels

Posted on November 14, 2025

Stuart, FL – Creative cuisine, cheerleading stunt work, game-changer cocktails, a danceable playlist of live music, and a fiercely-contested team challenge that will better the lives of local seniors for years to come – that’s the promise of this year’s Pep Rally Gala to benefit the Council on Aging Martin County.

 

“This is a gala unlike any other,” said Andrea Levy, committee member and captain of Team Lotus Loft. “The Council on Aging Martin County has been serving seniors for 51 successful years. We’re celebrating that tremendous achievement and getting all fired up for the future.”

 

The event on Saturday, February 28, begins at 6 p.m. at the Kane Center. Chef’s Table will provide an amazing spread, the band Girlfriend Material will play lively, get-up-out-of-your-seat-and-dance music, and there will be surprises throughout the evening starting with a Progressive Cocktail Tour.

 

Last year, teams competed for bragging rights and raised significant funds to benefit Council on Aging programs. This year, they have their sights set on a very specific goal: $80,000 to purchase a meal delivery vehicle to support the Meals on Wheels program.

 

“Every day our volunteers deliver more than 580 meals to seniors in need throughout our county,” explained CEO Karen Ripper, “along with meals to our four congregate dining sites. They bring nourishment, programming and socialization to our clients. The Meal Delivery Truck will be a game changer in how well we are able to deliver hot meals to our congregate dining sites in Jensen Beach, Stuart, Hobe Sound, and Indiantown.”

 

The 2026 teams are now forming. A team can be a business, neighborhood, or group of friends. The only requirement is, according to Andrea, “a willingness to get fired up and help us raise funds for seniors in our community.”

 

It’s quick and easy to become a team. Just line up the team members, choose a name and logo, and sign up at  coamartin.org/peprallygala.

 

The most important goal of the Pep Rally Gala is to help vulnerable seniors, especially at a time when cuts to government programs have made their needs greater than ever. There are also valuable perks that come with forming a team or being a sponsor.

 

Sponsors will have their names included in press releases, bi-weekly email blasts to update the status of the competition, and all marketing materials. Teams that raise more than $2,000 will enjoy their own table at the event and receive ten tickets. At the $5,000 and above level, sponsors will also be honored as a contributor with a listing on the new Meal Truck.

 

“The Pep Rally Gala will be incredible fun from start to finish,” said Michelle Dyer, committee member and captain of the New Home Dream Team. “We invite the community to get rowdy with us and help Council on Aging continue their amazing work.  Together, we can fight Senior hunger and isolation!”

 

For tickets and sponsorship information, contact Michele Leigh Jacobs at 772-223-7803, mjacobs@coamartin.org, or the Council on Aging Martin County website www.coamartin.org

 

About the Council on Aging Martin County

For seniors, their families, and caregivers, the Council on Aging Martin County is their trusted and comprehensive hub for senior resources. We work with the community to reduce anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hunger. Together, we help seniors live a safer, healthier, and happier life.

 

From our Adult Day Club, Day Primary Care Center, case management, and memory enhancement programming, to our nutrition and exercise classes, games to improve memory, concerts and social events, the Council on Aging’s Kane Center on Salerno Road is a beehive of activities. Services also take to the road – like Meals on Wheels, providing a hot meal and a warm smile to more than 580 homebound and needy Martin County senior residents in their home each day, or Senior Dining Centers at locations throughout the county in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Indiantown and Hobe Sound. The Elder Care Mobile Outreach Bus brings knowledgeable and compassionate staff directly to seniors in local neighborhoods.

 

For 51 years, the Council on Aging Martin County has been working tirelessly to inspire a community that embraces, uplifts and encourages seniors to maintain lives of quality and purpose. Stay healthy. Be active. Eat well. Get help when you need it from the Council on Aging Martin County. Please visit us in person, online at coamartin.org, or on social media, and learn more about the many services of the Council on Aging Martin County. Our staff and volunteers are ready and eager to help.