Friends of the Children - Portland

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News Release

Friends Of The Children-Portland Receives Two-Year, $200,000 Grant From Meyer Memorial Trust - 05/26/21

For Immediate Release
Contact: Traci Rossi 
Executive Director
Friends of the Children-Portland
trossi@friendspdx.org
503-281-6633

May 26, 2021 – Portland, OR – Meyer Memorial Trust has awarded a $200,000 grant to Friends of the Children-Portland to support the organization’s operations for two years.

Friends of the Children-Portland makes a 12+ year commitment to provide a professional mentor, called a Friend, to youth who are experiencing the intersectionality of childhood trauma and poverty. Youth are proactively enrolled in the program as kindergarteners and receive personalized, culturally relevant 1:1 mentoring through high school graduation—more than 12 years. Mentors serve 450 youth and their families in the Portland metro area. 

Funding from Meyer Memorial Trust, which was awarded last fall, will support the organization’s core mentoring services, school engagement activities, and evidence-based practices to address the health and well-being of program youth and families, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Friends of the Children-Portland is also committed to reducing  systemic racism and embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into its work as a social justice organization. 

Meyer Memorial Trust has supported Friends of the Children-Portland since 1993, when the Friends organization was founded in Portland by philanthropist Duncan Campbell . “We are incredibly grateful for Meyer Memorial Trust’s continued investment in our program and the trust’s deep belief in our mission,” said Traci Rossi, Executive Director at Friends of the Children-Portland . 

“Friends of the Children-Portland is focused on continuous improvement and being responsive to the
changing needs of program youth and families,” said Matt Morton, Equitable Education Portfolio Director at Meyer Memorial Trust. “The program’s long-term impact on the Portland community is significant, and we are proud to support this work, particularly as it pertains to healing and recovery from the pandemic.”

Independent evaluation of the Friends of the Children-Portland program consistently confirms that the majority of youth served achieve positive outcomes that lay a solid foundation for long-term stability and personal fulfillment in adulthood: 
•    An average of 83% of program graduates complete high school or earn a GED.
•    Of 29 program graduates in 2020, 15 had enrolled in college/vocational training as of March 2021 (52%). The national average in 2020 for immediate college enrollment was 56%.
•    In 2020, 97% of program youth made quarterly progress on their goals for the future. 
•    91% of respondents in the 2020 alumni survey felt that their involvement with Friends of the Children-Portland helped them succeed in life.
 
About Friends of the Children
Friends of the Children-Portland’s mission is impact generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors—12+ years, no matter what. For 28 years, Friends of the Children-Portland has used evidence-based strategies and nurturing relationships to serve youth facing the greatest societal challenges. For every $1 invested in program youth, $7 is returned to the community in savings within the public sector and contributions to the private sector, according to the Harvard Alumni Association of Oregon. In 2020, Friends of the Children-Portland was named the #1 Most-Admired Nonprofit in Oregon by the Portland Business Journal.

About Meyer Memorial Trust
Meyer Memorial Trust is a private foundation that works with and invests in organizations, communities, ideas, and efforts that contribute to a flourishing and equitable Oregon. Meyer Memorial Trust works to dismantle barriers to equity in education, housing, and the environment and to improve community conditions so that all Oregonians can reach their full potential. The Trust fulfills its mission through a mix of strategic, proactive, and responsive investments, including grants, loans, initiatives, commissions for research, and support for policy advocacy and a range of community and nonprofit engagement strategies. The Trust is not connected to Fred Meyer Inc. 

Friends Of The Children-Portland Receives Two-Year, $200,000 Grant From Meyer Memorial Trust - 05/26/21

For Immediate Release
Contact: Traci Rossi 
Executive Director
Friends of the Children-Portland
trossi@friendspdx.org
503-281-6633

May 26, 2021 – Portland, OR – Meyer Memorial Trust has awarded a $200,000 grant to Friends of the Children-Portland to support the organization’s operations for two years.

Friends of the Children-Portland makes a 12+ year commitment to provide a professional mentor, called a Friend, to youth who are experiencing the intersectionality of childhood trauma and poverty. Youth are proactively enrolled in the program as kindergarteners and receive personalized, culturally relevant 1:1 mentoring through high school graduation—more than 12 years. Mentors serve 450 youth and their families in the Portland metro area. 

Funding from Meyer Memorial Trust, which was awarded last fall, will support the organization’s core mentoring services, school engagement activities, and evidence-based practices to address the health and well-being of program youth and families, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Friends of the Children-Portland is also committed to reducing  systemic racism and embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into its work as a social justice organization. 

Meyer Memorial Trust has supported Friends of the Children-Portland since 1993, when the Friends organization was founded in Portland by philanthropist Duncan Campbell . “We are incredibly grateful for Meyer Memorial Trust’s continued investment in our program and the trust’s deep belief in our mission,” said Traci Rossi, Executive Director at Friends of the Children-Portland . 

“Friends of the Children-Portland is focused on continuous improvement and being responsive to the
changing needs of program youth and families,” said Matt Morton, Equitable Education Portfolio Director at Meyer Memorial Trust. “The program’s long-term impact on the Portland community is significant, and we are proud to support this work, particularly as it pertains to healing and recovery from the pandemic.”

Independent evaluation of the Friends of the Children-Portland program consistently confirms that the majority of youth served achieve positive outcomes that lay a solid foundation for long-term stability and personal fulfillment in adulthood: 
•    An average of 83% of program graduates complete high school or earn a GED.
•    Of 29 program graduates in 2020, 15 had enrolled in college/vocational training as of March 2021 (52%). The national average in 2020 for immediate college enrollment was 56%.
•    In 2020, 97% of program youth made quarterly progress on their goals for the future. 
•    91% of respondents in the 2020 alumni survey felt that their involvement with Friends of the Children-Portland helped them succeed in life.
 
About Friends of the Children
Friends of the Children-Portland’s mission is impact generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors—12+ years, no matter what. For 28 years, Friends of the Children-Portland has used evidence-based strategies and nurturing relationships to serve youth facing the greatest societal challenges. For every $1 invested in program youth, $7 is returned to the community in savings within the public sector and contributions to the private sector, according to the Harvard Alumni Association of Oregon. In 2020, Friends of the Children-Portland was named the #1 Most-Admired Nonprofit in Oregon by the Portland Business Journal.

About Meyer Memorial Trust
Meyer Memorial Trust is a private foundation that works with and invests in organizations, communities, ideas, and efforts that contribute to a flourishing and equitable Oregon. Meyer Memorial Trust works to dismantle barriers to equity in education, housing, and the environment and to improve community conditions so that all Oregonians can reach their full potential. The Trust fulfills its mission through a mix of strategic, proactive, and responsive investments, including grants, loans, initiatives, commissions for research, and support for policy advocacy and a range of community and nonprofit engagement strategies. The Trust is not connected to Fred Meyer Inc.