FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN MENTORING PROGRAM RECEIVES $1 MILLION GRANT FROM THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

September 28, 2005, Portland, OR – The National Office of Friends of the Children, a mentoring program that connects the nation’s most vulnerable children with paid, professional mentors, has received a $1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to refine its program operations and further build on its successes.

Friends of the Children – a non-profit organization – has created a model that enables a child to form a trusting, caring, and sustained relationship with an adult that can truly change his or her life for the better. The organization identifies the highest-risk children based on risk factors that predispose them to school failure, juvenile delinquency, gang and drug involvement, and teenage pregnancy. Friends of the Children selects children in kindergarten or first grade, before negative behaviors have become ingrained, and pairs each child with a professional mentor, called a “Friend.” Each Friend works with eight children, spending a substantial amount of time with each child every month until the child graduates from high school, for a total of 12 years.

“This grant will help us provide the highest quality mentoring programs to children and teens,” said Duncan Campbell, Friends of the Children Founder and Chair of the National Office’s Board of Directors,  “It will take the program to the next level and enable us to have an even greater positive impact on the lives of every youth in the program— and that's really why we're here, for the kids."

The national network reaches almost 600 children and teens across the United States through eight chapters in nine cities: Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati, Ohio; Klamath Falls, Oregon; New York, New York; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and the Brandywine Valley chapter (serving Chester, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware). The National Office, based in Portland, Oregon, was created in 2000 for the purpose of refining and replicating the mentoring program in other communities.

The Friends of the Children founding chapter in Portland, Oregon celebrated its first graduating class in June of 2004. Of the 267 youth served:

96% of all program youth are in school and attending regularly
87% have passing grades
92% have never been involved with the juvenile justice system
90% do not use drugs or alcohol on a regular basis
94% have not been involved in gang activity

The Friends of the Children program has demonstrated success, both statistically and through testimonies of individuals in our program. One teenager in Friends of the Children – Portland thanks her Friend for helping her become the young woman she is today:

"Throughout the eight or so years with Rachael (Friend), I've become more confident, caring, and generally happier.  I look back on my life some and I think that if Rachael hadn't been around to help me and help my family, I would have become lonely and depressed.  But because I had those little things to look forward to and I was taught how to cope, I became who I am now...I can now do things on my own because of her...I wish every person in the world could have a Friend...this program should be in everyone's lives, one way or another."

“This generous grant is critical in strengthening our program and our chapters, and we are thrilled,” said National’s Interim Executive Director, Diane Coward. “This partnership will enable us to continue to help at-risk youth to broaden their horizons on life and stay positive.”

Friends of the Children is a mentoring program that enables high-risk children to develop the relationships, goals, and skills necessary to break the cycles of poverty, abuse, and violence in order to become contributing members of society. For more information and success stories, visit www.friendsofthechildren.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

 

Contact
Susan Martin-Lepore
Friends of the Children – National Office
44 NE Morris Street
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 281-6633
smartin-lepore@friendsofthechildren.org
http://www.friendsofthechildren.org