About

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Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit organization that selects and invites youth – all of whom have unique talents, interests and dreams, and face multiple systemic obstacles – to be paired with a paid, professional mentor called a Friend. We hire and train Friends to support our youth from as early as age 4 through high school graduation – 12+ years, no matter what.

Our model is distinct, courageous and proven. We revolutionized the youth mentoring field by creating the first and only long-term professional mentoring program in the country. We are experts in building sustained and nurturing relationships with youth.

This is at the core of what we do. Each child gets a dedicated, one-on-one Friend who listens to their hopes and dreams. Friends empower our youth to set – and achieve – their goals. Friends also create meaningful experiences that empower youth to build life skills and make healthy choices while exploring the child's diverse talents and interests.

Our model is real, and it works.

Mission/Vision

Impacting generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors – 12+ years, no matter what.

Values

At the core of Friends of the Children’s mission is our organizational value of putting children first—walking alongside youth who face some of life’s hardest challenges from kindergarten through high school, for 12+ years no matter what.

Put Children First

Putting Children First as a key value for the organization means that the youth we serve are the primary focus of everything we do at Friends of the Children. We intentionally serve youth who are facing great obstacles. We listen to youth and base decisions on their needs and dreams, as they write their own stories of success. We foster a supportive, consistent relationship between each youth and professional mentor—a relationship that grows through high school, and into their adult lives.