2008 Annual Report - Friends of the Children

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Our children, many of whom are living in poverty, are experiencing significant struggles during these challenging economic times. We have seen a rise in the number of our children becoming homeless or needing emergency food assistance. The good work of a proven, effective program like Friends of the Children becomes increasingly important to strengthen our community. As we continue to grow to providing nearly 350 children with a Friend, I am inspired and encouraged by our children’s accomplishments. Each year our program is evaluated by an independent research group to measure our successes and determine where improvements are needed. I am pleased to report these results for 2008: Letter from the Executive Director • 90% of our program graduates earned a high school diploma or GED last year. • 92% avoided the juvenile justice system. • 98% of our adolescents avoided early parenting. While these statistics help to illustrate the impact of our program, everyday I see the immeasurable ways that having a Friend positively influences a child’s life. It is far more difficult to quantify the impact of taking regular piano lessons or the opportunity to experience the great outdoors through summer camping trips. These are the day-to-day activities that expand a child’s view of the world and the opportunities available to them. Is it possible to measure the return on investment on a changed life Our children face difficult circumstances; challenges that threaten to perpetuate the cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect. Through the Friends of the Children program, they are given a chance to transform themselves and their community. Thank you for your investment in Friends of the Children. With your support, our children will grow up to be positive, productive members of our community. Warm Regards, Terri Sorensen, Executive Director Friends of the Children - Portland 44 NE Morris Street Portland, OR 97212 Phone: 503-281-6633 Fax: 503-281-6819 http://www.friendsofthechildren.org/portland Special Thanks to: 2008 Annual Report for Friends of the Children - Portland Spring 2009 Volume 15, Issue 2
New School Partnership with Rigler Elementary Friends of the Children is pleased to announce that after a thorough analysis of school and neighborhood-level challenges facing elementary schools in Portland, we have added Rigler Elementary School as our newest child selection partner. Friends, staff and school officials were struck by how much children attending Rigler could benefit from this partnership, and we selected kindergarten children from Rigler School for the first time in fall 2008. We are excited about this new collaboration which, in joining other school partners Humboldt, King, Vernon, Kelly, Lent, Marysville, Grout, and Ockley Green, brings Friends of the Children into yet another diverse Portland community. Although we select children from nine Portland Public Schools, because our program children move frequently, they are currently attending more than 115 schools throughout the Portland Metro Area. This most recent school partner expansion is part of a larger objective to serve more of our community’s most vulnerable children. We are currently meeting benchmarks toward our five year goal of increasing the number of children we serve by 34% (to nearly 400) by 2011 while maintaining our high standard of program quality. Rigorous Study of the Friends of the Children Model Friends of the Children – Portland is one of four Friends of the Children Chapters participating in a scientifically rigorous study of our unique program model. Eugene-based Oregon Social Learning Center received funding from the National Institute of Health to conduct the study, which will follow the progress of 256 children from Portland, Seattle, New York and Boston over a 5-year period. Half of these children will be matched with a Friend and half participate as a control group that may access other services in the community but are not placed into a long-term mentoring relationship with a Friend. Highly qualified researchers will evaluate both groups over time to determine the difference that having a Friend can make in the lives of the most vulnerable children in these four communities. Half of the children enrolled in this study will be from Portland and we are very grateful to the Oregon Community Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Northwest Health Foundation, The Collins Foundation, and Knowledge Learning Corporation for their local support of this important endeavor. The results of this study will not only benefit Friends of the Children, but inform mentoring practices across the nation. Board of Directors Lori Flexer Board Chair Ferguson Wellman Diana Bianco Artemis Consulting Eileen Brennan Portland State University Ryan Buchanan eROI, Inc. Cynthia Campbell Youth Resources, Inc. Duncan Campbell The Campbell Group Rich Callahan KPMG LLP Theressa Davis Comcast Anita Decker Executive Harry Demorest Columbia Forest Products - Retired Chuck Floberg Beecher Carlson Henry Hewitt Stoel Rives Kathleen Kee Pacific Investment Advisors Thomas Keller Portland State University Peter Lizotte ACME Business Consulting Steve Maxwell KeyBank Keva Miller Portland State University Maddie O’Neill Sandstrom Design Richard Peach Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Bill Peressini Stimson Lumber Company Steven Plambeck Executive Mark Simmons The Campbell Group Ken Thrasher COMPLI Carolyn Walker Stoel Rives Lou Wood Columbia Distributing Company
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2008 Annual Report - Friends of the Children

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