Imagine how great it would be for a child to have a friend, who stays with them from kindergarten through high school graduation, 12 and a half years, no matter what!
They can with Friends of the Children, an organization that's new to Utah, but not new across the country. Their vision is, that one day, every child in Utah who is at risk of entering foster care will have that friend.
The Friends of the Children are salaried professional mentors. The organization is partnering with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. Regence's Senior VP of Public Affairs & Policy Jennifer Danielson says they are passionate about helping kids most at risk.
That's a perfect pairing with Friends of the Children that has chapters all across the country with a lot of success for helping kids deal with challenging issues.
Friends of the Children Executive Director Sandi Pershing says Friends developed a unique method that works. It includes selecting youth facing the greatest obstacles and partnering them with a professional mentor (friend), 16 hours a month.
Today some of the friends were packing backpacks to get kids ready for school and to welcome them into the program.
Donations are needed, you can donate through the Amazon Smile account, Friends of the Children.
You can also visit friendsutah.org to learn more about everything they have to offer.
