Executive Director Timothy Waters with a Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area mentee. MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Greetings! It is with absolute JOY and EXCITEMENT that I greet you as Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area’s second Executive Director! My sincere thanks to Michael Rugen for Co-Founding and leading this amazing SF Bay Area Chapter since 2016. Michael has built a phenomenal team of Professional Mentors and staff, fully immersed in the vision and mission of breaking the generational cycle of poverty. Michael, on behalf of the entire Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area team, I say, “thank you,” and I look forward to our continued partnership as you join our Board of Directors. The Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area team has and will continue to identify and enroll children who face the biggest systemic barriers. We hire professional mentors to provide consistent, trauma-informed support to each child from kindergarten through high school graduation – No Matter What! During my first month at Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area, I was fortunate to attend our back-to-school Pizza in the Park event. To witness the wonderful relationships built during our first 6 years between our professional mentors, our mentees and their caregivers was nothing short of amazing! I have been blessed to work for the last 10 years in Bayview Hunters Point, fulfilling my purpose – “to invest in me and everyone around me so WE can lift as we climb!” Rest assured; I will continue to do the same here at Friends of the Children – SF Bay Area! Kind regards, Timothy WatersExecutive DirectorFriends of the Children - SF Bay Area Please join Board Chair Abhi Talwalkar and Executive Director Timothy Waters for an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at Friends of the Children in action featuring two of our Mentors, Clara and Daoud. You will get up-close-and-personal insight into how one of our mental health consultants – Dr. Holly Gordon – works with our Professional Mentors to help our children overcome trauma and build healing relationships. Please Join Us DATE & TIME: December 1, 2022 | 5 to 6 pm PST R S V P Add To Calendar: Google Calendar Apple Calendar Outlook Calendar Our annual Pizza in the Park event is such a special time for all Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area staff and families to get together in community. We get active, we connect, and face paint is abundant!