The Heart of Giving - Love, Loss and Purpose

Interview recorded on August 8, 2025

Meet Guity Javid, a 35-year Rotary veteran who channeled her deepest grief into a foundation dedicated to addressing childhood anxiety

The Human Story Behind the Mission
Guity Javid's story begins with love. After losing her daughter Negeen five years ago—a young woman she describes as "the kindest, most generous, sweetest human being I've met in my life"—Javid faced a choice that defines so many of our pivotal moments: retreat into grief, or transform that pain into purpose.
She chose purpose.

"Negeen was very giving," Guity Javid shares. "After she passed, I wanted to keep her name alive and her spirit alive." What emerged was the Negeen Foundation (Negeen means "jewel" in Persian), a focused nonprofit dedicated to addressing childhood anxiety in ages 7-25.

Javid brings the precision of her successful banking and finance career to philanthropy, insisting on evidence-based solutions and measurable results. "I don't believe you can be everything for everyone," she explains. "I wanted to make it very focused."

Why Childhood Anxiety Matters More Than Ever
Drawing from her experience as a two-time cancer survivor, Javid makes a powerful observation: "There's a lot of sympathy for cancer survivors, but there is zero sympathy with somebody who has mental health issues."

Her foundation tackles this stigma head-on by treating anxiety as what it truly is—a manageable condition, not a character flaw. Through partnerships with programs like TNT's CAP (Child and Adolescent Program), she's funding fellows and creating resources that reach children before anxiety becomes something more severe.

"Anxiety is a precursor to so many other more severe mental health issues," Javid notes. "And eventually addiction, suicide, or dying from taking too much medication. These are the things I really want to help prevent."

A Vision for Humanity

"I want to see humanity prevail,” says Javid.

She envisions a world where children thrive without suffering, where mental health carries no stigma, and where early intervention prevents the cascade of problems that untreated anxiety can create. It's ambitious, yes—but as she notes, "oceans can get larger with drops."

For parents, educators, and healthcare providers, Javid’s work offers both hope and practical tools. Her upcoming website will feature a "toolbox" of anxiety management resources, created specifically for young people.

To learn more about evidence-based anxiety solutions or to follow Javid’'s work, stay tuned for updates on the foundation's official launch.

Because sometimes the most powerful change comes not from avoiding our pain, but from transforming it into purpose.