Since 1946, The Guidance Center has provided comprehensive mental health services to children and families facing serious challenges. Every day, we walk alongside those who are navigating trauma, big emotions, and overwhelming uncertainty. With the support of our community, we can offer life-changing care that heals wounds, builds resilience, and opens the door to a healthier future.
As the year comes to an end, we need your help to continue this essential work. Help us raise $60,000 to ensure families receive therapy, crisis support, parent guidance, and much more.
How Support Changed Jonah’s Story
“When a child feels heard, their whole world begins to change.”
At four years old, Jonah came to The Guidance Center afraid, confused, and in pain. He had already endured more trauma than many adults experience in a lifetime. Unable to express his feelings with words, Jonah communicated through aggressive behavior—lashing out when he didn’t know how else to cope. His world felt unsafe, and he wasn’t able to ask for help. His mother was doing everything she could, but she didn’t have the tools to support his needs.
Through play therapy and parent coaching, Jonah began to find his voice again. Session by session, he learned to name his emotions, trust others, and stay regulated when things felt hard. His mother gained strategies to comfort, connect, and guide him with confidence. Today, he’s thriving—talkative, imaginative, and dreaming of becoming a veterinarian so he can help animals as others have helped him. Stories like Jonah’s happen because the community chooses to care.
Jonah’s Journey Shows Us
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Healing happens through connection, not perfection
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Families thrive when caregivers receive support
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Children learn to trust when they feel understood
Why Your Support Matters
Jonah’s progress did not happen by chance. It happened because his family had access to care that is funded by our community. Your gift makes tools like play therapy and parent guidance possible for families who need them most.
Your gift today will provide critical services for hundreds of children who are hurting but still hopeful. With your help, our community can learn to trust, to speak, to grow—and to dream again.
Donor-Advised Funds Make Giving Easy
You can support children like Jonah through your Donor-Advised Fund (DAF).
If you have a DAF through Fidelity Charitable, DAFgiving360 (formerly known as Schwab Charitable), Vanguard, or another provider, you can recommend a gift today.
How to give using your DAF:
- Log in to your provider account for Donor Advised Funds.
- Search The Guidance Center in Long Beach, California (Federal Tax ID: 95-1691017).
- Recommend your year-end grant before Wednesday, 12/31/25, to help reduce taxable income for the year.
- Choose to share your contact information so we can send a thank-you letter.
Also, if you are age 70 1/2 or older, you can also transfer a certain amount from your traditional Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) to a charity. If you are 73 or older, the transfer counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution and allows you to avoid paying income tax on the distribution, while supporting The Guidance Center. To learn more, please visit the “IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions” section of our donate page.
Give Today and Make an Impact
There’s still time to make a year-end gift. Your support also reaches children at a critical time when demand for services is high. Help us ensure that children like Jonah have access to compassionate mental health care that builds trust, resilience, and hope.