Jasmine* is a fun and kind girl who first met her Friend when she enrolled with Friends of the Children-Twin Cities at the age of 4.

At the time, she had been in foster care since she was a toddler. From the start, her Friend became a part of her weekly life. Together, they spent time navigating big emotions, building confidence, and strengthening connections with peers and family members.

This past winter brought extreme cold and community-wide disruptions to the Twin Cities. But Jasmine's Friend kept showing up. Week after week. Through the cold, through interrupted routines, through the ordinary days in between.

Then in the spring, Jasmine’s adoption by her foster family was finalized, making permanent the home and family she already knew.

She's 6 now, and her growth is easy to see.

"Now she talks much more about her feelings and the things she experiences," her Friend shared.

That growth shows up in other ways, too. Today, Jasmine looks forward to trips to the library and spending time reading. She approaches new experiences with greater confidence and asks more questions about the world around her.

The bond they've built shows up in small, everyday moments. Before running off to play, Jasmine often stops to ask her Friend for a hug first.

It's a small gesture, but it says something important: Jasmine feels safe, connected, and cared for.

A lot has happened in Jasmine's life over the past two years. But through foster care, adoption, and all the ordinary days in between, her Friend has remained a trusted, consistent part of her everyday life.

And as Jasmine begins this next chapter with her family, the relationship she has built with her Friend doesn't end here. It continues through new schools, new friendships, new challenges, and new celebrations. That's the promise of Friends of the Children: 12+ years, no matter what.

*Youth name changed and identifying details omitted to protect privacy.