2026 Champions for Children Gala

Honoring Magna Dias, MD, FAAP, Co-Chair of Pediatrics at Bridgeport Hospital, as our 2026 Champion for Children.

June 4, 2026 – Cheers to a beautiful evening celebrating hope, healing, and community. 🥂🎉

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our gala in support of The Child & Family Guidance Center and the children and families we serve.

A special thank you to Shorehaven Golf Club for hosting us with such care and warmth, and to our Board of Directors for their leadership, generosity, and continued commitment to our mission.

We were honored to recognize Dr. Magna Dias as our 2026 Champions for Children Honoree, and Hyacintha Bernard as the recipient of the Cay White, MD Award. Their dedication to children, families, and community reflects the heart of our work.

We are deeply grateful to our generous sponsors:

R.D. Scinto, Inc., Yale New Haven Health, Cigna Healthcare, Katie Scinto & Joseph Emanuel, Gisselle Acevedo & Suzanne Curtis, PKF O’Connor Davies, Cohen and Wolf, P.C., Pat McCabe, Nicholas D’Addario, Hi-Ho Energy Services, VIA Visionary Interiors Architecture, Avangrid, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), Ives Bank, Construction Resources, LLC, and Connecticut Health Foundation.

Your support allows us to provide compassionate, trauma-informed care during families’ toughest times.

Thanks to partners, donors, staff, and friends, CFGC continues to deliver care, guidance, and hope to help families heal and move forward.

Please enjoy our 2026 Champions for Children Photo Album at the link.

DONATION OR MEDIA INQUIRIES 

Thank you for your interest in The Child and Family Guidance Center.  For inquiries, please contact Danielle Marchione, Vice President of Strategy and Advancement at dmarchione@cfguidance.org or by calling (203) 394-6529 Ext. 3069. Familiarize yourself with our Programs and About sections to learn more about our work. We look forward to sharing our story with you. 

2025 Centennial Anniversary Champions for Children Gala

For 100 Years, We’ve Been There. The Child & Family Guidance Center raised $100,000 at our 2025 Centennial Anniversary Gala, honoring Patrick McCabe as our 2025 Champion for Children.

Please find our 2025 Gala video showcasing two important programs at CFGC:

Early Childhood Consultation Partnership and our Greater Bridgeport Home Visiting Partnership

June 13, 2025 – We gathered to celebrate something extraordinary: 100 years of being there. And as part of the celebration, thanks to our supporters, we raised more than $100,000!

For 100 years, CFGC has stood alongside children and families, offering support, hope, and healing.

For 100 years, we’ve been there.

At our Centennial Gala, we had the privilege of honoring a century of showing up— for children in crisis, for parents doing the best they can, and for families navigating life’s hardest moments.

We also celebrated our honoree, Patrick McCabe, whose generosity has lifted burdens and created space for families to breathe.

🦋 To our staff: Thank you for your quiet, steady, and deeply powerful service.
🦋 To our supporters: Your generosity helps us say yes to every family who walks through our doors.

As we begin our next century, we remain committed to being there. For every child, every family, and every moment that matters.

Thank you for being there with us.

Please enjoy our 2025 Champions for Children Photo Album at the link.

And thank you to our sponsors for making this event and our work possible:

R.D. Scinto, Inc., Katie Scinto & Joesph Emmanuel, Cigna Healthcare, HiHo Energy Services, Cohen and Wolf, P.C., Yale New Haven Health, Tideways Properties, LLC., VIA Visionary Interiors Architecture, TD Bank, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), Mutual of America Financial Group, Baker Tilly US, Ives Bank, Optimus Health Care, Construction Resources, LLC, Charles IT, and Connecticut Health Foundation.

2024 Champions for Children Gala

2024 Champions for Children Gala raises over $100k for kids and families, honoring Meghan De Maria & Courtney Yanni as our 2024 Champions for Children.

View Our Video on CFGC’s Culturally Informed Trauma Care for Children, which premiered at our 2024 Gala.

June 27, 2024 – Champions for Children is not just a name — it’s a fact. The Child & Family Guidance Center’s 2024 Gala raised over $100,000 for children’s mental health treatment and support services. 

Our 2024 Champions for Children were Meghan De Maria and Courtney Yanni of Moss Design who redesigned our visitation room as a philanthropic gift. Their efforts in designing our visitation rooms created a safe, healing, and inviting space for families to gather.

Congratulations to Shirley Gadson for earning our Cay White, MD Outstanding Achievement Award for her nearly 30 years of leadership and service to CFGC!

Thanks to our host The Inn at Longshore and their staff for their service.

CFGC thanks all who gave their time and resources to make an impact in the lives of Fairfield County kids and their families. With supporters like you, we’re meeting the growing need for mental health treatment and support services that change lives. 

Please enjoy our 2024 Champions for Children Photo Album at the link.

Special thanks to our event sponsors: Cigna Healthcare, R.D. Scinto Inc., M&T Bank, Hi-Ho Energy Services, Marcum LLP, PKF O’Connor Davies, Westport Lifestyle, VIA Visionary Interiors Architecture, Cohen and Wolf, P.C., Mutual of America Financial Group, the D’Amico Family, the McCabe Family, Katie Scinto & Joe Emanuel.

2023 Champions for Children Gala

2023 Champions for Children honors legislator and long-time volunteer, Tony Hwang.

View Our Video on CFGC’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services program. Watch and see how this free program works to help children heal and build a healthier, happier future.

February 7, 2023 – Fairfield County’s premier fundraising gala for children’s mental health returns on Thursday, May 18, honoring the advocacy of Connecticut Senator Tony Hwang and celebrating the impact of the region’s mobile crisis workers.

The Child & Family Guidance Center (CFGC) is hosting the Champions for Children Gala in Westport at The Inn at Longshore during Mental Health Awareness Month in May. All event proceeds support CFGC’s mental health treatment, substance use programs and family support services.

“Sen. Hwang has consistently listened to CFGC and organizations like us, to understand the complex challenges the kids and families we serve are facing when it comes to mental health,” said President & CEO Michael Patota. “He has then brought those issues forward at both the community and the state levels to make change and break stigmas.”

Sen. Hwang’s advocacy at the state level helped secure additional funding for CFGC’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services (MCIS) — a team that responds to kids and teens in crisis within 45 minutes of a caregivers call to Connecticut’s 211 line.

“Our MCIS team is now 24/7 and our clinicians are receiving an unprecedented number of calls these last few months,” said Patota. “The need was clearly there, and advocates like Sen. Hwang are helping us meet the need.”

Sen. Hwang, who represents the 28th district, which includes Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, and parts of Westport and Weston, has been particularly vocal about the impact of isolation and lockdowns on youth during COVID-19. He has hosted a number of community forums to raise awareness and connect parents to resources like CFGC.

“I love what I do because I can give platforms to organizations that toil in the shadows, like Child & Family Guidance,” said Hwang. “This issue cuts across all political parties, socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds and across town lines. I’m just happy to do my part.”

The 2023 Gala will also highlight the day-to-day work of the mobile crisis team at CFGC, giving a deeper look into the clinicians who help kids and families navigate difficult moments.

Outstanding Achievement 

The Cay White, MD Outstanding Achievement Award will be awarded during the May 18 event to CFGC Board Member Jennifer Moorin, who has volunteered and guided CFGC through many changes during the last 45 years, including a name and location change.

Moorin’s philanthropy has also been a guiding force at CFGC, supporting CFGC’s programs and the children and families we serve directly.

Special recognition and thanks will also be given to Donna Fletcher, LPC, LADC, who recently retired from her role as Director of Co-Occurring Treatment Programs. Donna has been with CFGC for 14 years. As both a therapist and program director, she has helped youth and parents who are facing the dual challenges of substance use and mental illness.

Please enjoy our 2023 Champions for Children Photo Album at the link.

Serving Greater Bridgeport & Norwalk since 1925.