About Us

Commitment and Consistency — It Works. Here’s How.

Where it all started

Friends of the Children (Friends-KC) was founded in Portland, OR in 1993 by Duncan Campbell, who faced many disadvantages as a child and later became a successful entrepreneur. After his financial success, Mr. Campbell turned his attention to equipping disadvantaged children with the tools to become successful despite their challenging circumstances. He created the revolutionary Friends of the Children program to help children in the neighborhood where he grew up. He based the groundbreaking program on the best research for helping children with multiple risk factors overcome obstacles to become successful adults. The Friends of the Children model has grown to seven chapters in seven cities nationwide. The King County chapter started in 2000.

Our approach

Friends of the Children is a pioneer mentoring program based on the principle that the most vulnerable children can become healthy, productive adults with a consistent, caring adult in their lives.  Friends of the Children is the only mentoring organization in the nation that pairs children from distressed neighborhoods with paid, full-time professional mentors for 12 years. We select children who are beginning to tumble through a cycle of troubled families, poorly performing schools and guide them to another track. Our program begins in kindergarten or first grade. Each mentor spends four hours a week with his/her assigned child, every week through high school graduation.

Friends-KC mentors called Friends help to uncover a child’s potential and build a lifelong foundation for success through friendship, advocacy, and education.

How it works

We identify vulnerable children in kindergarten and pair them with a consistent, long-term, professional mentor called a Friend who spends at least four hours with them every single week until they graduate from high school. This consistency ensures that each child has an unwavering resource, advocate and friend no matter what.

Friends engage in a wide variety of activities with the children to foster their school success, enhance their emotional and physical health, and expose them to new places and experiences. The combination of these activities nurtures each child’s passions and talents, and prepares them for their future.

Friends-KC has set a number of goals for its children
in specific developmental areas that include:

• School Success
  • Academic performance and progress in:
    • School attendance
    • Displaying appropriate classroom behavior
    • Progression in reading, math & computer literacy
    • Promotion to next grade

• Social and Emotional
  • Strong relationships with adults, peers and community
  • Improved mental and emotional health

• Making Good Choices
  • Reduced aggression and problem behaviors
  • Avoidance of substance abuse
  • Avoiding teen pregnancy

• Development 
  • Improved health care
  • Positive Plan and Skills for the Future

See why it works for children, their families and their communities.

Read stories of the lives changed through our program.

Learn about all the ways you can get involved and support us or donate now.