While initially Gonder intended to use her background as an addiction specialist to inform her work (hence the Counseling Services in the name), it was the need that she saw every day on the streets of Long Beach that truly molded what Tranquility Counseling Services has become.
During the pandemic, the nonprofit was able to continue focusing on each individuals’ needs, such as social and independent living skills, while giving families a needed break.
The nonprofit doesn’t view their students as “at-risk;” instead, they are “at-promise,” encouraged to pursue a brighter future and succeed academically and personally.
The nonprofit, which initially started with single-day programs for adults with developmental disabilities, has extended to include three-day programs and services for children and teens in the greater Los Angeles area.
About 80% of women who start with Pathways to Independence complete the three to five-year program, with about 90% obtaining their bachelor’s degree.
For the past 27 years, Operation Jump Start has served low-income, high achieving, first generation youth, to meet their goals of getting into and then staying in college.
Earthlodge Center for Transformation provides an approach to healing through connection to nature, welcoming people from all walks of life, particularly women and those from the Black and LGBTQ+ communities.
The executive director realized that in order for Algalita to continue to thrive, a new need had to be fulfilled: The gap in education specifically surrounding plastic pollution.
The organization, founded in 2016, works to advance justice in disadvantaged communities through creating and preserving affordable housing, renter protections, and community economic development, connecting to tenants through legal clinics, phone banking, and community events.
The Post first wrote about Violet Law in May when her family was raising money for medical research. Recently, she qualified for a clinical trial into treatments for GM1 gangliosidosis.
