Friends of the Children - Seattle | About

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Our Mission

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

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Friends of the Children–Seattle is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization (91-2047030). We are one chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. The national organization was founded in 1993. Friends-Seattle was founded in Seattle, WA in 2000. Learn how our model works and about our chapter history below.

Friends of the Children complies with Federal Transparency in Coverage regulations by providing this link to machine readable files related to the health plans offered to our employees. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data including negotiated service rates, and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers.

Values

At the core of Friends of the Children’s mission is our organizational value of putting children first—walking alongside youth who face some of life’s hardest challenges from kindergarten through high school, for 12+ years no matter what.

Put Children First

Put Youth First

Putting Children First as a key value for the organization means that the youth we serve are the primary focus of everything we do at Friends of the Children. We intentionally serve youth who are facing great obstacles. We listen to youth and base decisions on their needs and dreams, as they write their own stories of success. We foster a supportive, consistent relationship between each youth and professional mentor—a relationship that grows through high school, and into their adult lives.

At the cusp of retiring from their positions at Microsoft, Sharon Maghie and Mike Murray were keeping an ear out for their next project. Over the years, they built a strong friendship deeply rooted in a shared love of family, faith and the pursuit of education. They knew they wanted to do something that had an impact on the community and allowed them to continue to surround themselves with smart, energetic people.

Through mutual friends, Sharon and Mike were connected to Duncan Campbell, the founder of the national chapter of Friends of the Children in Portland. They were intrigued by the model of a salaried professional mentor. After a successful career at Microsoft, they wanted to make sure the program was rooted in true data before entertaining the idea of starting a chapter in Seattle. It was during that meeting with Duncan when they were introduced to a professional mentor or Friend who had been with the Portland chapter for over three years. Sharon asked the Friend how he envisioned his future with the organization, and he responded, “I’ll be here until the end. These are my boys, and I want to see them graduate.”

That was it for Sharon and Mike. They shifted from the question “Will we start a Seattle chapter?” to “How can we not start a Seattle chapter?”

The most important thing to Mike and Sharon has always been finding the right people to be professional mentors; people who are as relentless and dedicated as they are to changing the lives of youth in Seattle and breaking the generational cycle of poverty. Even though it’s been over 15 years, both Sharon and Mike continue to stay actively involved with Friends of the Children. “We are tremendously proud of how far Friends of the Children has come,” Sharon said. “There were lessons learned along the way, and just when we thought we hit a roadblock, the staff persevered. We couldn’t ask for more than that, and I look forward to the next 15 years!”
Friends of the Children was established in 1993 by entrepreneur Duncan Campbell and his wife, Cindy Campbell, in Portland, Ore. The Campbells purchased a school building in the same Northeast Portland neighborhood where Duncan experienced a challenging childhood. After finding business success, Duncan wanted to help kids who grew up in an environment like his. In 1992, the Campbell Institute for Children, conducted extensive research to determine the most effective program model to help young children overcome adversity and realize their inherent resilience and potential. The research clearly indicated that the strongest protective factor a child can have is a long-term, nurturing relationship with a consistent and caring adult.

Friends of the Children began with just three salaried, professional mentors called Friends and 24 children. Friends of the Children has grown to employ hundreds of Friends who serve thousands of children across the nation. You can view the full list of locations on our national website.