Submitted by: Project Youth OC
When the Hoag OC Marathon was first envisioned more than two decades ago, it wasn't intended to be just another race.
From the beginning, organizers recognized that bringing thousands of people together presented an opportunity to do more than promote health and fitness. It offered the chance to strengthen the Orange County community itself. Rather than limiting the event to a single weekend of competition, the marathon embedded philanthropy into its foundation, inviting local nonprofits to become charity partners and giving participants a meaningful way to run for something greater than a personal finish time.
Project Youth OC was one of those original partners.
At the time, neither organization knew what the next 22 years would hold. What began as a fundraising opportunity would grow into one of Orange County's longest-standing examples of how sustained collaboration can strengthen an entire community. Together, the Hoag OC Marathon and Project Youth OC built something neither organization could have accomplished alone: a partnership that has raised more than $1 million, introduced thousands of community members to Project Youth OC's mission, and transformed a single annual event into a lasting movement of volunteers, advocates and supporters working toward brighter futures for local youth.
Like many nonprofits, Project Youth OC faces a challenge familiar across the sector. The need for prevention and intervention services continues to grow while funding remains increasingly competitive and unpredictable. Helping young people avoid involvement in the justice system, strengthen family relationships and build brighter futures requires more than financial resources. It requires sustained community awareness, trusted advocates and opportunities for people to become personally invested in the mission.
The marathon provided exactly that.
Each year, more than 25,000 runners and an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 spectators gather for one of Orange County's signature community events. Rather than seeing those individuals simply as race participants, Project Youth OC saw an opportunity to build relationships. Every runner who joined Team Project Youth OC, every volunteer who staffed a water station, every company that formed a corporate team and every family member cheering along the course became another connection to the organization's mission.
That community has continued to grow year after year.
Over time, the partnership began to create something neither organization expected. People didn't just participate once and move on. They came back. They recruited friends and family, formed teams, volunteered, fundraised and became passionate champions for Project Youth OC's mission. What started as race-day participation evolved into lasting community engagement — a growing network of advocates united by a shared commitment to helping local youth and families succeed.
In 2026, that momentum reached a new milestone. Project Youth OC celebrated a record 14 teams and more than 320 runners and walkers participating on its behalf, in addition to volunteers staffing some of the marathon's most important water stations. The event has become one of the organization's largest annual opportunities not only to raise funds, but also to welcome new supporters into its mission and deepen relationships with longtime partners.
The partnership has also transformed the way philanthropy is experienced.
Many charitable relationships begin and end with a donation. This partnership offers something different. Participants become part of the work itself. They train together, fundraise together, volunteer together and celebrate together. They connect physical wellness with community wellness and discover firsthand the impact Project Youth OC has on young people and families throughout Orange County.
That shared experience has created something neither organization could have achieved independently.
For the Hoag OC Marathon, Project Youth OC helps fulfill the marathon's vision of being more than a race by connecting thousands of participants with a meaningful community cause. For Project Youth OC, the marathon has become far more than an annual fundraiser. It has become a year-round platform for storytelling, volunteer recruitment, donor engagement and community visibility, introducing new audiences to the organization's prevention-first approach and demonstrating how every individual can play a role in helping young people thrive.
Perhaps the partnership's greatest achievement cannot be measured in dollars or participation numbers.
Some of the young people who once received services through Project Youth OC have grown into adults who now participate in the marathon as employees of local businesses, volunteers, donors and community leaders. Their lives have come full circle. The same community that once invested in them is now being strengthened by their own investment in others. Few partnerships illustrate the lasting ripple effect of philanthropy more clearly than that.
After more than two decades, the relationship between the Hoag OC Marathon and Project Youth OC has endured because it has never been defined by a single race or a single fundraising campaign. It has been sustained through trust, shared purpose and a belief that lasting community change happens when organizations commit to one another over time.
As nonprofits across the country navigate increasing demand, shifting funding landscapes and growing community needs, this partnership offers an important reminder: meaningful philanthropy is rarely accomplished alone. The greatest impact comes when organizations, businesses, volunteers and community members move together toward a common goal.
For twenty-two years, that journey has begun at a starting line.
But its true finish line has always been something much bigger — a stronger, healthier Orange County where more young people and families have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
