A Time to Celebrate & Support MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dear Friend of Friends: At Friends of the Children, we’re committed to walk beside all who seek justice and equality. We celebrate their victories and support their continuing struggles. This month, we have much to celebrate. Juneteenth. On June 19 we celebrate Juneteenth or Freedom Day, commemorating the date in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas were belatedly told they were legally free. We honor that historic moment and reaffirm that Black Lives Matter. Pride Month. In June, we also celebrate Pride Month, honoring the immense progress made in recent years by the LGBTQ community in raising our collective consciousness and achieving legal and social victories unimaginable just a few short years ago. While many challenges remain for the Black and LGBTQ+ communities, their successes inspire all of us to believe that the arc of history really does bend toward justice. Our commitment to justice and equality goes beyond public advocacy. The Friends of the Children model rests on a foundation of Values and Core Assets, which compel us to help each child explore and cherish his or her own unique racial, ethnic, sexual and gender identity. Only by doing so can they develop the key Core Assets of Hope, Belonging and Positive Relationship Building, which will empower them to become confident individuals and successful leaders in their communities. We can’t honor our commitment to walk beside each child for 12+ years or reach our goal of serving 500 Bayview Hunters Point children without the support of generous donors like you. We are in the final stage of our 2021 No Matter What! Campaign, and we’ve raised over $1.4 million toward our goal of $1.5 million. We have a challenge grant that will match every donation during the campaign, so every $1 you donate during the campaign will yield $2 of support for our children. Please click on the DONATE button below and help each of our children find their unique voice, develop their immense potential and break the generational cycle of poverty. Michael Rugen SF Co-Founder & Executive Director Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area