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How do you break the cycle of generational poverty and trauma?

It takes a courageous and proven model.

How It Works

12+ YEARS

NO MATTER WHAT

Impacting generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors – 12+ years, no matter what.

WHAT MY 20,000-MILE LIFE JOURNEY TAUGHT ME ABOUT PATIENT CAPITAL

Yi-Chin Chen | TEDxRoxbury

Impacting generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors – 12+ years, no matter what.

Friend Raiser Header January 2024 Website Graphic 1

20th Anniversary Friend Raiser Celebration

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ACHIEVER SPOTLIGHT: ANIYAH

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20 Years, 20 Friends: Founding Funders

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OUR METHOD

We select children who face multiple systemic obstacles. We amplify their voices as they write their own stories of hope and resilience.

OUR MODEL

We commit to each child for the long-term. 12+ years, no matter what. Each child is paired with a paid professional mentor called a Friend.

Our Outcomes

92%

of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country or enter the workforce.

98%

of youth earn a high school diploma or a GED.

93%

of youth remain free from juvenile justice system involvement.

98%

of youth wait to parent until after their teen years.

We can not do this work alone, thank you to the following key partners

2019 Wellington Management Foundation 400

Boston Partners Anonymous Family Foundation

Friends of the Children-Boston Land Acknowledgement

In alignment with the values of Friends of the Children - Boston, as an organization we acknowledge that our chapter is located on lands that were home to Indigenous people since time immemorial. Prior to the creation of the United States of America, this part of the continent was Turtle Island, the home of millions of diverse and thriving Indigenous people. We acknowledge and respect the inherent sovereignty and unique cultures of the first peoples of this land.