Windermere Foundation Charity Challenge

 

Portland Charity Could Receive $25,000 with Public’s Help

 

PORTLAND, Ore. — A local Portland charity, Friends of the Children, has the chance to win $25,000 in a contest organized in honor of the Windermere Foundation’s twenty-fifth anniversary. In a “charity challenge,” 21 non-profit organizations throughout the Western United States will compete for a $25,000 donation. At the end of the charity challenge, the five non-profit organizations that earn the most votes will each receive $25,000—for a grand total of $125,000.

 

The winners are selected by the public through voting on Facebook, votes can be cast up to one time per day. Click here to vote for Friends of the Children. The contest runs now through April 4.

 

“We nominated Friends of the Children because it has proven to break the generational cycle of poverty and helps kids realize brighter futures,” said Joan Allen, Windermere co-owner and Windermere Foundation co-chair. “Please invest in these kids by voting every day and help us spread the word by sharing the charity’s social posts.”

 

Friends of the Children is a revolutionary one-on-one mentoring program that provides paid, professional mentors, called Friends, to the community’s most vulnerable children. The early intervention and preventative program selects youth in kindergarten and mentors them through high school graduation. Friends spend an average of four hours per week in intensive one-on-one mentoring to build a foundation of valuable social, academic and life skills.

 

Consider this:

  • 83 percent of program graduates earn a high school diploma or GED, while more than 60 percent of our youth have a parent that did not complete high school.
  • 93 percent of program youth avoid the juvenile justice system, while at least 50 percent have one or more parents who have been incarcerated.
  • 98 percent of program teens avoid early parenting, while 85 percent were born to a teen parent.
  • Every $1 spent on program graduates saves the government $7 during that youth’s childhood and $24 during that youth’s adulthood.

 

About Friends of the Children

Friends of the Children is a revolutionary mentoring program that is transforming the lives of our most vulnerable children. Founded by Portland native Duncan Campbell, Friends of the Children makes a 12.5 year commitment to each child, selecting them in kindergarten, matching them with paid, professional mentors (called Friends) and guiding them through high school graduation. For more information, visit friendspdx.org.

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Friends of the Children Press Contact: Karen Zimmer, 971-340-1401, kzimmer@friendsofthechildren.org

Windermere Stellar Press Contact: Amy Rosenberg, 503-869-2688, amy@rosenbergmarketing.com