Leaders from Across Friends of the Children's National Network Meet with Members of Congress to Advocate for Professional Mentoring for Youth Facing Adversity
Leaders from 36 communities representing youth from more than 650 U.S. schools called on Members of Congress to pass a bill prioritizing youth impacted by foster care, mental health issues and other systemic barriers
"Every child deserves the chance to reach their inherent potential," said
Friends of the Children is a nonprofit network that pairs children who face some of the hardest things in life like foster care, housing insecurity, and family mental health challenges with long-term paid, professional mentors. These professional mentors, called Friends, walk alongside youth and their families from kindergarten through high school—12+ years, no matter what. Studies of the program show that 92% of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our county, or enter the workforce; 83% of youth earn a high school diploma or GED; 93% of youth remain free from the juvenile justice system; and 98% of youth wait to parent until after their teen years.
Leaders from the organization's 36 locations met with more than 70 Congressional offices in both the House and Senate over two days, including in-person meetings with: Rep.
In addition, Friends of the Children marked its 30th anniversary with a reception at the AT&T Forum near Capitol Hill, awarding Rep.
During their visits, Friends of the Children leaders asked Members of Congress to support increased long-term professional mentoring for youth including:
- The demonstrated return on investment (
$7 to$1 ) of the Friends of the Children professional mentoring model. - The impact of the Friends of the Children model localized to support the specific needs of youth and families in rural, Indigenous, suburban and urban communities.
- The introduction of legislation that would create a five-year pilot program supporting professional mentoring programs for youth.
Friends of the Children has shown tremendous growth from 5 to 36 locations in the 10 years as more communities recognize the model as a strategy for both foster care prevention and mental health promotion for young people for face great obstacles. Their work has recently been featured on CNN and in The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Learn more at friendsofthechildren.org.
Media kit with photos and videos from the event is accessible here (photo credit:
About Friends of the Children
Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit with the mission of impacting generational change by empowering youth who face the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors – 12+ years, no matter what. Our successful model is now in 36 locations around the country in rural, Indigenous, suburban, and urban communities. Our work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Stanford Social Innovation Review and CBS News. Visit friendsofthechildren.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Contact:
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leaders-from-across-friends-of-the-childrens-national-network-meet-with-members-of-congress-to-advocate-for-professional-mentoring-for-youth-facing-adversity-302064421.html
SOURCE Friends of the Children
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- New Oriental to Report Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results on July 31, 2024
- Study: Detroit Overtakes Atlanta as Most Overvalued Housing Market in the U.S.
- Mark Dearden Named Chief Executive Officer of Specac, Ltd
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
PRNewswire, Press ReleasesRelated Entities
TwitterSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!