ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN

Entrepreneur Duncan Campbell’s own challenging childhood provided the impetus for founding Friends of the Children in 1993. We began with three paid professional mentors called Friends serving twenty-four children in Portland, Oregon. Today Friends reaches thousands of children in over 650 schools in communities across the nation.

Our successful model is in 40+ locations and counting. Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit organization that selects and invites youth—all of whom have unique talents, interests, and dreams, and also 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 four through high school graduation: 12+ years, no matter what.

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.

This youth art project embodies the heart of our mission and work, enabling each youth, each Friend, each chapter, and the national organization to celebrate expression through art.

For more information on Friends of the Children visit friendsofthechildren.org