Antelope Valley

Located at the northern end of L.A. County, the Antelope Valley has the highest maltreatment rate in the country for children ages 0 to 5. Given the immense need and proven ability of our model to make a real difference, leaders from the private and public sectors have maintained a vision to scale Friends of the Children–Los Angeles to the entire county, creating a continuum of service designed to focus on the prevention of foster care entry. In fall 2019, Friends–L.A. was awarded a $2.1 million contract with the L.A. County Department of Mental Health to expand service to the Antelope Valley, with a focus on stabilizing families and preventing entry into foster care.

Austin

Established in 2017 to bring a consistent and caring adult called a Friend to the most vulnerable kindergarteners in Austin, Texas, the Friends of the Children–Austin chapter was funded by over 50 local individuals and families. Serving children and families primarily in East Austin, early partnership with Austin Independent School District to enroll their inaugural cohort of 32 children has now expanded to include an innovative partnership with Travis County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

Boston

Founded in 2004, Friends of the Children–Boston was the first organization established by the GreenLight Fund. Co-founded by John Simon and Margaret Hall, the GreenLight Fund is a venture philanthropy firm that identifies innovative nonprofits from around the nation and provides seed funding to bring them to Boston. After vetting hundreds of organizations to select as its first investee, the GreenLight Fund selected a high impact mentoring organization named Friends of the Children. Under the leadership and vision of John and Margaret, they enrolled their inaugural cohort of 16 youth in 2004, who went on to graduate from high school in 2016 and 2017.

Central Oregon

Friends of the Children–Central Oregon launched in 2017 thanks to the work of dedicated early champions and investments by the Tykeson Family, The Campbell Foundation and the Social Innovation Fund. Friends–Central Oregon has partnered with Bend-Lapine and Redmond School Districts and District 10 Child Welfare-Foster Care to select children into the program.

Charlotte

In 2013 researchers ranked Charlotte, N.C., 50th out of 50 among the largest U.S. cities in economic mobility. For the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area at large, the U.S. Census currently reports that 44 percent of the 13,976 children ages 4 to 5 live in households earning below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Seeking a proven model to address intergenerational poverty, in 2017, Thompson Child & Family Focus, a centuries-old nonprofit based in North Carolina, applied and was awarded a Social Innovation Fund subaward from Friends-National to launch the Friends of the Children–Charlotte program as an affiliate.

Chicago

Over the last few years, local and national media attention about Chicago has been about gun violence and gangs. Challenging that narrative, a group of concerned citizens came together around the belief that with the right support, every child can achieve greatness. Through their passion, persistence and commitment, local champions obtained the support of Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, the Steans Foundation, the Good Heart Work Smart Foundation and many other individuals deeply invested in the children who need it most. Launched in January 2018, Friends of the Children–Chicago is proud to serve children in Austin and North Lawndale communities.

Colorado Springs

Thanks to the generosity of SCHEELS and the Echo Fund, Friends of the Children – Colorado Springs (Friends–Colorado Springs) officially launched in the fall of 2021! Our vision is that one day, every child in El Paso County who is in - or at risk of entering - foster care will have a Friend: a paid, professional mentor who stays with them from kindergarten through high school graduation, 12+ years – no matter what. In its first year, Friends–Colorado Springs will partner with CPCD - giving children a head start in El Paso County, and partners who work with the child welfare system, to invite youth and families to join our program. Each child selected will be paired with a Friend whose full-time job will be to spend four hours a week with each child. Friends will support youth—and by extension their families—for 12+ years, building trusting relationships through a trauma-informed lens that provides critical social, emotional and academic support.

OJJDP Awards Grant to Expand Foster Care Reach

Detroit

In 2016, the Detroit Free Press wrote an article stating that the Friends of the Children model could help children in Detroit. The story was written after a journalist visited the national office in Portland, Ore. Three years later, volunteers from the metro Detroit area who believed in the mission helped to raise the capital funding needed to start a Detroit chapter. Thanks to many early funders, foundations and individual donors, the funds were successfully raised, and the chapter became a reality. Friends of the Children–Detroit was established in early 2020. In partnership with Detroit Leadership Academy and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Friends–Detroit's inaugural cohort of youth and caregivers will be fully enrolled by August 2020.

Eastern Montana

Thanks to the generosity of the Echo Fund, SCHEELS, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, the Underriner Family, and other individual donors, Friends of the Children – Eastern Montana (Friends- Eastern Montana) launched in the fall of 2022! In partnership with our Western Montana location, our vision is that one day, every child in Montana who is in - or at risk of entering - foster care will have a Friend: a paid, professional mentor who stays with them from kindergarten through high school graduation, 12+ years – no matter what. Friends-Eastern Montana will initially begin selecting children in the Billings area, in partnership with local community partners and the education system. Each child selected will be paired with a Friend whose full-time job will be to spend four hours a week with each child. Friends will support youth—and by extension their families—for 12+ years, building trusting relationships through a trauma-informed lens that provides critical social, emotional and academic support.

Fargo-Moorhead

Children in the Fargo-Moorhead community are facing great obstacles through no fault of their own. Thanks to a catalytic $850,000 investment from the Stand Together Foundation, in July 2019 Friends of the Children–Fargo-Moorhead was launched to serve the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. With a focus on children highly at risk of entering, or who have already experienced foster care, the Fargo-Moorhead chapter is partnering with community partners and public schools in both Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., to enroll and serve children and caregivers with our two-generation (2Gen) model.

Gresham

In fall 2015, based on data about the displacement occurring for their children and families, Friends of the Children–Portland opened a new facility in the Rockwood neighborhood in East Multnomah County. The state-of-the-art center provides our youth with a positive environment in which to learn, play, participate in developmentally appropriate group activities and spend one-on-one time with their Friends. The Friends–Portland Rockwood location serves as a hub for partnerships and engagement with the wider East County community as they have made the kitchen, gym and meeting spaces available to other service organizations.

Harlem

The Friends model was brought to New York in 2001 by Howard Clyman and Kathie Roberts. Howard's work of representing youth involved in the criminal justice system inspired him to bring a preventative program to New York City. The Friends of Children–New York program began with three Friends serving 24 children in Harlem. Almost twenty years later, Friends–NY is serving hundreds of youth and, with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, has recently expanded through the launch of our two-generation (2Gen) approach.

He Sapa

Friends of the Children opened Friends – He Sapa in 2022, a site working directly with the Lakota Oyate [people] in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Friends of the Children model ensures that youth are supported from as early as age 4 through high school graduation—nearly half of the Topa [four stages of the Lakota Way of Life]. Friends of the Children is committed to grounding our work in Lakota culture using the extended kinship model through naming ceremonies, making of relatives, coming of age ceremonies, and healing camps.

Houston

In 2023, Friends of the Children - Houston will begin serving youth and families in Houston, Texas. Our vision is that one day, every child in Houston who is at highest risk of the long-term effects of childhood adversity, like foster care, will have a Friend – a long term, salaried professional mentor who stays with them from pre-school through high school graduation, 12+ years, no matter what.

Klamath Basin

Friends of the Children–Klamath Basin was established in 2000 with an initial investment from the JELD-WEN Foundation. Celebrating 20 years of impact, Friends–Klamath Basin serves youth selected in partnership with Klamath Basin Schools, the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Tribal community of Chiloquin.

Lane County Oregon

Lane County has one of the highest rates of foster care utilization in the State of Oregon. Fueled by a catalytic investment from the Tykeson Foundation, Friends of the Children–Lane County Oregon launched in the summer of 2020. Lane County child welfare leaders and Cesar Chavez Elementary School will partner with Friends–Lane County Oregon to enroll their first cohort of youth and families, with the goal of safely keeping families together and reducing entry into the foster care system.

Los Angeles

Friends of the Children–Los Angeles (Friends–L.A.) started as a dream and ignited a movement to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and their families. Los Angeles County is home to the largest child welfare system in the country. Parenting youth who are transitioning out of foster care face daunting uncertainties while working to lay the foundation for their children to feel safe, secure and hopeful as they grow. In 2017, Friends L.A. launched our first two-generation (2Gen) approach in partnership with organizations serving parenting transition-age foster youth. Working with county and philanthropic leaders committed to systems change, Friends–L.A. is becoming a part of the foster care prevention and intervention continuum in Los Angeles County.

Phoenix

The Phoenix site was compelled by local need and conviction about Friends of the Children’s potential impact for children in Maricopa County. A local champion whose daughter works as a Friend at the Portland chapter led the effort to launch a Friends of the Children chapter in Phoenix. After securing commitments of more than $1.5M, the chapter officially launched in January 2022. Friends of the Children – Phoenix seeks to partner with the Roosevelt School District to select children into the program starting spring 2022.

Pine Ridge Reservation

In addition to serving Indigenous children and families in Rapid City, Friends – He Sapa has gained the support of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council to expand service to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation – on the Oglala Lakota Nation.

Portland

Friends of the Children–Portland is the founding chapter of our organization, established in 1993 by entrepreneur Duncan Campbell. Founders Duncan and Cindy Campbell purchased a school building constructed in 1929 in the same northeast Portland neighborhood where Duncan grew up. Celebrating nearly three-decades of impact, Friends–Portland has since expanded to a second location in Gresham, Ore. Friends–Portland serves over 500 children living throughout Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.

Salt Lake City

Inspired to break cycles of intergenerational poverty and trauma, business and philanthropic leaders in Utah raised $1.75M in seed capital in just ten months to launch Friends of the Children–Utah. The Utah chapter officially launched in March 2020 and will serve children and families using our two-generation (2Gen) approach. In its inaugural year, Friends–Utah is partnering with The Children's Center and the Utah Department of Human Service to enroll children living in Salt Lake City who are in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and high rates of entry into the foster care system.

San Francisco

The Friends of the Children–San Francisco Bay Area (Friends–SF Bay Area) chapter, established in late 2016, serves youth in Bayview Hunters Point, one of the most diverse and historically important neighborhoods in San Francisco. Friends–SF Bay Area partners with San Francisco Unified School District to enroll youth in kindergarten from Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Charles Drew and Hillcrest Elementary Schools.

Seattle

Friends of the Children–Seattle launched in 2000 thanks to the commitment of two individuals on the cusp of retiring from Microsoft, Sharon Maghie and Mike Murray. Celebrating 20 years of impact, the Seattle chapter partners with public schools and the foster care system to enroll youth living in South Seattle. Through a shared commitment to addressing childhood trauma through the power of relationship, Friends–Seattle recently launched a new partnership with Childhaven.

South Bronx

In 2014, Friends of the Children–New York expanded to a second location in the South Bronx. Friends–NY partners with school districts, government agencies and community-based organizations serving individuals whose lives are impacted by the child welfare and criminal justice systems. Between its Central Harlem and South Bronx locations, Friends–NY is serving hundreds of youth and, with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, has recently expanded through the launch of our two-generation (2Gen) approach.

Southwest Washington

To ensure continuity of service when youth moved from Portland to Vancouver, Wash., Friends–Portland expanded its services to youth in Southwest Washington. The community response to the program was overwhelming and, between 2018-19, champions raised the seed capital to expand the program. Friends of the Children–SW Washington launched in 2020 as an independent chapter. Working with Vancouver, Evergreen and Battle Ground school districts, the chapter is excited to be our third chapter in Washington.

Tacoma

Launched by a catalytic $500,000 investment from the Medina Foundation in 2018, the drive to open a Friends of the Children chapter in Tacoma, Wash., was born. Friends of the Children–Tacoma officially launched in spring 2020 and is working with area organizations serving families impacted by foster care and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families to identify and enroll youth into the program. Friends–Tacoma is implementing our two-generation (2Gen) approach, supporting both youth and caregivers to achieve their hopes and dreams.

Tampa Bay

Friends of the Children–Tampa Bay initially started as an affiliate program in 2014, focusing youth enrollment on children experiencing foster care in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. In 2018, Friends of the Children made the strategic decision to launch Friends–Tampa Bay as a stand-alone chapter, allowing the organization to operate independently and increase the number of children served. Friends–Tampa Bay is newly partnering with Foster Elementary School in Hillsborough County.

Western Montana

Thanks to the generosity of the Tykeson Family Foundation, Echo Fund, SCHEELS, First Interstate Bank, and an anonymous donor, Friends of the Children – Montana (Friends - Western Montana) officially launched in the fall of 2021! Our vision is that one day, every child in Montana who is in - or at risk of entering - foster care will have a Friend: a paid, professional mentor who stays with them from kindergarten through high school graduation, 12+ years – no matter what. Friends-Montana will initially begin selecting children in the Missoula area, in partnership with the local nonprofits and the education system. Each child selected will be paired with a Friend whose full-time job will be to spend four hours a week with each child. Friends will support youth—and by extension their families—for 12+ years, building trusting relationships through a trauma-informed lens that provides critical social, emotional and academic support.

Locations

Our Locations