Friends of the Children Alms Sunday
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Friends of the Children Alms Sunday set for May 14
Friends of the Children – Western Montana impacts generational change one child at a time by pairing salaried, full-time mentors, called Friends, with amazing children who have big hopes and dreams but who face the greatest obstacles due to their experiences with early childhood traumas and involvement in foster care.
Their professional mentors begin working with children when they are between ages 4-6 through high school, for 12+ years, no matter what. Friends spend 3-4 hours per week one-on-one with each child delivering fun and engaging activities that foster positive life skills and social-emotional development.
Friends of the Children prioritizes early prevention and trauma mitigation and keeping children and families out of systems like foster care and the criminal justice where possible.
The Missoula-based Western Montana chapter of Friends of the Children is part of the 30-year-old national network of Friends of the Children – the nation’s only long-term, evidence-based mentoring organization.
Friends of the Children is proud to partner with community organizations including Mountain Home Montana, Partnership for Children, Missoula Food Bank and Community Center, and Missoula County Public Schools.
Friends’ outcomes are notable. Long-term, more than 92% of children in the program enroll in higher education, secure and sustain living wage employment, or serve our country, and 98% delay parenting until after their teen years. For every $1 invested in the program, the public saves $7, or nearly $1 million over the course of each child’s lifetime.
For every child enrolled in the program, there are 3 other children in the community who could greatly benefit from these services. Friends of the Children invites the Holy Spirit congregation to help Friends of the Children sustain their organization and take a step closer to their dream that one day every child in Missoula and beyond who is at risk of entering the foster care system will have a Friend.
To learn more about educational and support opportunities, please join us for our Friends of the Children Alms Sunday on May 14 at both services. Your special gifts to support the work of Friends of the Children may be placed in the offering plate at either service that Sunday, or you may give online through our website and on our giving app.
− James Wiley
Social Concerns Committee