On Thursday, November 19, 2026, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation welcomes Academy Award-winning actress, producer, director, and best-selling author Goldie Hawn to the stage at the 30th Annual Numbers Too Big To Ignore Luncheon.

For more than five decades, Goldie has brought laughter and joy to audiences around the world. Through her Foundation, MindUP, she has also helped children build the mental fitness skills to navigate challenges with greater confidence, compassion, and resilience.

This November, those two parts of her story come together for an afternoon of hope, connection, and purpose. As we celebrate our 30th luncheon, Goldie’s message reminds us that each of us can be a light for someone else, helping women and girls find the support and opportunities they need to move forward.

Goldie shares that she’s “so excited to join the Atlanta Women’s Foundation for the Numbers Luncheon! When we support the mental well-being of women and girls, we help them discover their strength, resilience, and limitless possibilities. I can’t wait to share an afternoon filled with hope, connection, and a little joy – and celebrate how each of us can help light the way for others.” 

A Career Built on Joy

Most of us met Goldie Hawn through laughter. She rose to fame on the sketch comedy series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In in the late 1960s, then won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Cactus Flower. Over the decades that followed, she starred in films audiences still quote today, including Private Benjamin, Overboard, and The First Wives Club.

Goldie didn’t stop at acting. She also built a career behind the camera as a producer and director, helping shape the stories she told on screen.

She is a best-selling author as well. In A Lotus Grows in the Mud, she reflects on her life, her career, and the inner practices that carried her through both. In 10 Mindful Minutes and its companion, 10 Mindful Minutes: A Journal, she offers parents and caregivers practical ways to bring mindfulness into everyday family life.

At home, Goldie is a proud mother of four and grandmother of eight, and she has shared her life with her partner, Kurt Russell, for more than 30 years. She believes that “children light the path to joy,” and that belief runs through nearly everything she has built.

From Hollywood to the Classroom: The Story of MindUP

In 2003, Goldie grew alarmed by what she saw happening to children: rising school violence, youth depression, and mounting pressure on kids at younger and younger ages. Rather than wait for someone else to respond, she launched The Goldie Hawn Foundation.

She brought together neuroscientists, educators, psychologists, and researchers to help children learn to care for their minds the way they learn to care for their bodies. The result was MindUP, an evidence-based program that gives children tools to:

• Regulate their emotions
• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Build empathy for others
• Improve focus and academic performance

At its core, MindUP is about mental fitness, and the idea is as practical as it sounds. Just as physical fitness builds strength over time, mental fitness builds the habits that help children handle hard days, connect with others, and learn.

In 2022, the Foundation expanded its reach with MindUP for Life Digital, an interactive platform designed for parents, teachers, and children worldwide. Today, MindUP serves more than seven million children across 48 countries.

What began as one woman’s worry about the next generation has become a global model for helping children grow up healthier, happier, and more resilient.

Why Goldie’s Message Matters in Metro Atlanta Right Now

Goldie’s work with children lands at a critical moment for our region. Earlier this year, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation released The Status of Women and Youth Mental Health in Metro Atlanta, a comprehensive assessment of how women, girls, caregivers, and nonprofit staff across Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett Counties are experiencing mental health today.

The findings are sobering. Among the grantee staff  and behavioral health providers surveyed:

• 90% reported observing anxiety among the people they serve
• 83% reported depression
• 76% reported trauma or PTSD
• 52% said clients experience delays or cancellations when trying to access mental health care

Young people, and girls in particular, are carrying a heavy load. The research found that adolescent girls report especially high levels of sadness and hopelessness. Many girls described hiding their struggles to avoid burdening parents who are already stretched thin. Survey respondents named a lack of accessible, affordable youth counseling as a major unmet need.

The research also makes clear that mental health is shaped by housing costs, low wages, childcare, and caregiving. More than half of renters in metro Atlanta are housing cost-burdened. When a mother is worried about rent, her children feel it too.

That is why the tools MindUP teaches matter so much. Skills like emotional regulation, focus, and empathy don’t replace access to care or economic security, but they can give children a foundation to stand on while the adults around them work to build stronger systems of support.

It’s also why AWF invests in both sides of the equation. Through our Mental Health & Wellbeing Initiative, Two-Generation Initiative, and All Girls Forward program, we fund grantee partners who support mothers and children together, because when women thrive, their families and communities thrive too.

Celebrating 30 Years of Numbers Too Big To Ignore

Beginning in 1986, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation initially operated as a fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (CFGA). The inaugural Numbers Too Big to Ignore Luncheon in 1997 helped cement AWF’s relevance and importance, enabling us to become our own organization. 

The Number’s Luncheon is AWF’s signature annual fundraiser, and 2026 marks its 30th year. The first luncheon featured Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem. In the years since, the stage has hosted many additional iconic speakers, including Maya Angelou, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Rita Moreno, Brooke Shields, Molly Shannon, and, last year, Hoda Kotb.

Every one of those speakers has helped us tell the same story: the challenges facing women and girls in metro Atlanta are too big to ignore, and so is our community’s power to meet them.

The numbers behind the luncheon tell that story, too:

• Since its founding in 1998, AWF has invested more than $33 million in programs and grantee partners working in education, housing, healthcare, workforce development, and mental health.
• The sold-out 2025 luncheon drew more than 1,600 community and business leaders.
• That single event raised $1.2 million to support women and girls across the region.

Funds raised at the luncheon go toward nonprofit programs that help women and girls across metro Atlanta live economically self-sufficient, healthy, and vibrant lives. Thirty years in, that mission is as urgent as ever.

Join Us on November 19

Don’t miss your chance to hear Goldie Hawn in person as we celebrate 30 years of investing in women and girls across Atlanta.

Thursday, November 19, 2026

11:00 a.m. Arrival & Networking | 12:00 p.m. Lunch & Program | 1:30 p.m. Close

Thomas Murphy Ballroom, Georgia World Congress Center

Tickets, tables, and sponsorships are available now. Individual tickets are $250, table hosting starts at $2,000, and sponsorships range up to $100,000, each with its own set of benefits. For sponsorship questions, contact Ali Cobb at acobb@atlantawomen.org.

Can’t attend? You can still make a Fund-the-Mission gift before, during, or after the luncheon. 

Be the light. Whether you join us in the ballroom or give from wherever you are, your support powers AWF’s work to keep building pathways to economic security and well-being, creating brighter futures for women and girls in our community.

Join us for an afternoon of joy, inspiration, and shared purpose with Goldie Hawn. 

Together, we can help light the way forward. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the featured speaker at the 2026 Numbers Too Big To Ignore Luncheon?

Goldie Hawn, the Academy Award-winning actress, producer, director, best-selling author, and founder of the children’s mental fitness program MindUP.

When and where is the 2026 luncheon?

Thursday, November 19, 2026, in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Arrival and networking begin at 11:00 a.m., and lunch and program run from noon to 1:30 p.m.

What is MindUP?

MindUP is an evidence-based program created by The Goldie Hawn Foundation with neuroscientists, educators, psychologists, and researchers. It teaches children skills to regulate emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, build empathy, and improve focus. It serves more than seven million children across 48 countries.

What does the luncheon support?

The luncheon is the Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s signature annual fundraiser. It funds grantee partners working in education, housing, healthcare, workforce development, and mental health for women and girls across metro Atlanta.

How do I buy tickets or become a sponsor?

Visit the luncheon registration page. Individual tickets are $250, and sponsorships range from $2,000 to $50,000. For sponsorship questions, contact Ali Cobb at acobb@atlantawomen.org.