Focus Area: Youth Development

Grant Amount: $7,500

Based in Fargo, serves the Fargo-Moorhead region. Friends of the Children is a national organization that is the country’s first and only long-term professional mentoring program, working with children from as early as age 4 to high school graduation. Their work is grounded in evidence-based research on child development and mitigating the impacts of toxic stress on a child’s brain development. The professional mentors at Friends are often former teachers, social workers, and youth leaders, with vast experience with youth and families facing the challenges of intergenerational poverty.

Grant supports professional mentoring for youth in Moorhead, Minnesota, with high-quality, culturally appropriate youth development activities. The Friends’ model works within each child’s home, school, and community, applying trauma-informed, culturally aligned practices to allow their youth to cultivate the resilience needed to overcome barriers.