Dear Friends,

The Friends of the Children network was founded a little over 30 years ago by entrepreneur Duncan Campbell. Like many of the youth we serve today, Duncan grew up navigating instability and challenges that no child should have to endure. As a young adult, he spent hours mentoring boys in juvenile detention centers, seeing up close how early adversity, when left unaddressed, shapes a young person’s path. Those experiences, paired with his own childhood, led him to create Friends of the Children: a long-term mentoring organization that now spans the country, including here in the Twin Cities.

Duncan’s story is both fascinating and profoundly inspiring. In his book, The Art of Being There: Creating Change, One Child at a Time, he shares how personal connections, community wisdom, and a desire to ensure that youth who need the most support, like he once did, have a caring adult by their side from kindergarten through high school became the catalyst for this powerful movement. In Chapter 8, “Tilling the Soil,” Duncan reminds us that transformational growth requires intention, patience, and collective effort. Change is not accidental; it is cultivated.

That philosophy sits at the center of everything we do at Friends of the Children – Twin Cities. Long-term mentoring is its own form of soil-tilling. By walking alongside young people for 12+ years, we steadily remove the rocks that hinder growth, frightening instability, distressing isolation, and systemic inequity, and enrich the soil with the nutrients every child deserves: trust, belonging, opportunity, and joy. When the ground beneath a young person is strengthened, they can put down roots, grow with confidence, and imagine futures once out of reach.

Across cultures, tilling the soil has always been a communal act. Entire communities come together not only to share the labor, but to strengthen relationships and ensure everyone can thrive. That same spirit has guided our chapter from day one. Our partners, funders, volunteers, staff, and caregivers have shown up with open hands and open hearts to help cultivate a foundation where children can grow strong. As our incredible Program Director, Muriel Dorbor, often says: “Because we are committing to our youth and families long term, we have the opportunity to plant the seeds, water them, and watch them grow.”

Because of this collective care, Friends – Twin Cities now serves 48 youth and families across the metro. Every day, our professional mentors, who we call Friends, show up with consistency, compassion, and unwavering belief in each child’s brilliance. Their work, and your partnership, are reflected throughout this first Impact Report.

As we look toward the next three years and beyond, we remain grounded in a simple truth: when we prepare the soil together, the harvest belongs to all of us. Duncan planted the first seed more than three decades ago, and today a movement of 41 chapters carries that vision forward. Here in the Twin Cities, we are proud to help cultivate the next generation of possibility one relationship, one family, and one season of growth at a time.

With Gratitude,

Batala McFarlane

Executive Director, Friends of the Children - Twin Cities