Friends of the Children creates Colorado Springs chapter to provide professional mentors for at-risk kids | Subscriber-Only Content
4 min readErich Nelson has used a superior chunk of this week’s function hours carrying out child’s participate in.
On Tuesday, he and his new close friend Ricky, who’s 5, went to Library 21c in Briargate, in which they analyzed giraffes, compiled specifics, and drew pics of the world’s tallest mammal. The pair then headed to a park for some chilly romping.
Nelson also plans to show up at Ricky’s college to aid him with his classes and fulfill frequently with Ricky’s relatives.

They’ll hold repeating this pattern, swapping out age-acceptable things to do, until finally Ricky graduates from substantial university.
As a skillfully experienced mentor with the nonprofit Friends of the Little ones, Nelson’s job could appear to be like all enjoyment and minor energy.
But the palling around, undertaking stuff with each other, and discovering as a crew provide as a implies to an critical conclusion.
“I just hope to enable Ricky’s household make guaranteed he succeeds and make positive he is familiar with he’s cherished,” Nelson claimed. “I glimpse ahead to filling my day with actively playing with kids all working day.”
The Portland, Ore.-headquartered Mates of the Young children turns 30 up coming yr and is on a mission to broaden its product nationwide.
Organizers selected Colorado Springs in which to launch its initially Colorado chapter — No. 23 in the community of 25 chapters and counting — mainly because of the promising setting, reported Govt Director Judy Cara.
Seed income of $1.25 million for a portion of startup expenditures arrived from contributors that include things like El Pomar Foundation and Scheels, she claimed.
Good friends of the Small children now is forming its 1st El Paso County cohort of 24 at-threat kids, ages 4-6, who will get totally free mentorship throughout their elementary and secondary faculty years to give them a greater shot in everyday living.

“What differentiates us from other organizations that count on volunteers is that we have entire-time, educated mentors, who every have 8 youngsters they’re dependable for, who get four hrs a week of devoted help,” Cara said.
Mentors receive instruction that covers not only relational advancement and steering but also arms-on mechanics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, sexual-abuse consciousness, how to put in a booster seat in a car or truck, and other useful equipment.
Mentors also teach people how to strengthen parenting tactics, establish positive mother or father-little one relationships, create social and psychological capabilities, navigate government methods and other guidance.
“When the program started off in Portland, it was focused on the kid, but it grew to become apparent that youngsters could not be profitable if the mothers and fathers have been homeless or there was food stuff insecurity in the loved ones,” Cara explained.
Some young children acknowledged into the system are in the foster care system and staying referred by the El Paso County Section of Human Expert services. Other kids go to faculty districts the organization is performing with, like Widefield D-3.
Some kids will transfer into Pals of the Kids following graduating from CPCD, the neighborhood Head Begin administrator that has applications for infants by means of age 5.
Each courses aim on helping two generations: the young children and grownups in a organic or foster relatives, said Noreen Landis-Tyson, president and CEO of CPCD.
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“Friends of the Kids builds on the studying and family balance attained in pre-kindergarten and makes sure ongoing good results by coming along with both the little one and the child’s loved ones,” she reported. “It’s a confirmed product that qualified prospects to large faculty graduation and is specifically effective for little ones in foster care.”
Studies clearly show that 83% of system members graduate from high university, 92% of application graduates attend postsecondary education, 93% stay out of the juvenile justice technique, and 98% prevent early parenting.
Dontae Bryant, a professionally skilled mentor in the Colorado Springs office environment, understands firsthand how the program generates final results.
He grew up in a Portland neighborhood that had “a ton of gangs and violence.”
“It could have been the likelihood that I went down the identical street,” he stated. “Some of my mates did.”
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As a substitute, a Good friends of the Little ones mentor walked along with him by center faculty and superior college. And now he can relate to what his mentees are struggling with.
“It’s not like you cannot do this or that it’s figuring out what they have going on in their everyday living and steering them along the suitable path,” Bryant said.
The solution of Friends of the Children has caught the attention of celebs, together with new Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, and his Grammy award-winning wife, Ciara.
Even though visitor hosting the March 4 episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Display,” Ciara touted the operate of Pals of the Children.
In Colorado Springs, Cara is fundraising to develop a clubhouse for small children in the program to dangle out with their mentors, as properly as securing a more substantial office environment.
She designs to have 24 kids picked by the conclude of this faculty year and every year increase 24 far more kids and 3 more mentors for the very first three years.
