Grant brings new mentoring program to Central Oregon

Friends of the Children, whose successful model of providing the most vulnerable children with long-term, salaried, professional mentors from kindergarten through high school graduation, announced Tuesday it will award $300,000 to open a new Friends of the Children – Central Oregon chapter to serve children in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties.

The effort — which also includes new chapters in Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC, and Los Angeles, CA; and an expansion in Boston — is due in large part to the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a federal matching grant opportunity.

“We are thrilled to announce this expansion at such a critical moment,” said Duncan Campbell, founder of Friends of the Children, a national organization based in Portland.

“We know that our children have a lot stacked against them. Research has shown the most important factor for building resiliency in children facing the highest risks is a long-term, consistent relationship with a caring adult. We can now provide that to more children in Oregon.”

Friends of the Children’s evidence-based model works: 93 percent of youth avoid involvement in the juvenile justice system, 83 percent graduate from high
school and 98 percent avoid early parenting.

“I’ve seen firsthand how much Friends of the Children improves lives for vulnerable children in Oregon,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said. “I’m thrilled to see its innovative and life-changing model expanding across the country to have even more impact on those kids who need it most.”

Moving mentoring out of the volunteer realm ensures the quality, consistency, and commitment needed to break the cycle of poverty for the most vulnerable youth.

“There are areas in Central Oregon where upwards of 30 percent of children live
in poverty,” said Kim Hatfield, executive director for Friends of the Children – Central Oregon. “We will now be able to help some of the most vulnerable children write a more hopeful story. The evidence-based model works and I’m thrilled that we will be able to offer this support to children in the area.”

The Friends of the Children model in Central Oregon will focus on identifying children facing the highest risks in Bend-La Pine and Redmond school districts. In the first year, the goal will be to employ three professional mentors, referred to as “Friends,” and enroll 24 students in the program.

“We are pleased to support bringing Friends of the Children to Central Oregon,” said Ken Wilhelm, executive director of the United Way of Deschutes County. “We believe this successful model can significantly change the trajectory for the most vulnerable children in our community and know that this investment will have an indelible social return on investment.”

To qualify for the SIF matching grant, local champions needed to raise funds from private sources. In Central Oregon that includes generous support from The Tykeson Family, Oregon Community Foundation, The Campbell Foundation, United Way of Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Health Council.

As part of the SIF grant, Friends of the Children also opened a new chapter in San Francisco and doubled enrollment in Seattle in early 2017. Current sites include Boston, MA; Harlem and South Bronx, NY; Portland, Gresham, and Klamath Falls, OR; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Tampa Bay, FL; and Cornwall, UK.

The SIF matching grant is supported through funding awarded in 2016 by CNCS that received funding from 2010 to 2016. Using public and private resources to find and grow community-based nonprofits with evidence of results, SIF intermediaries received funding to award subgrants that focus on overcoming challenges in economic opportunity, healthy futures and youth development.

Although CNCS made its last SIF intermediary awards in fiscal year 2016 — when Friends of the Children received its award — SIF intermediaries will continue to administer their subgrant programs until their federal funding is exhausted.