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We pair kindergarteners facing the greatest obstacles with full-time, salaried, Professional Mentors. We walk alongside them for 12.5 years. No Matter What.
Our model works because we make a long-term, in-depth commitment to every child.
We find children facing the greatest obstacles.
We partner with community organizations, referring agencies, and schools to identify kindergarteners facing the greatest risk factors and with the least protective factors. Our families may be impacted by experiences including gun violence, food insecurity, housing insecurity, involvement in the criminal justice system, and foster care.
We employ and train salaried, Professional Mentors.
We move mentorship out of the volunteer realm and into a profession in order to fulfil the intentional, consistent, long-term commitment we make to every child in our program. Our Professional Mentors are experienced in youth development, highly trained, and receive ongoing training so they remain current on best practices to support the unique development of each of the youth in their portfolio.
We commit to the long term.
We commit to every child from kindergarten through adolescence to help them navigate each phase of their development. Life is unpredictable and the support that our youth need evolves as they age and as they face new experiences.
We focus on the individual journey of each child.
We partner with the child and their caregivers to create an individual road map for each child. Then our Professional Mentors provide specialized support in five developmentally appropriate focus areas that help children acquire the skills they need to thrive.
We work in all facets of a child’s life.
We create a bridge. Professional Mentors serve as a link between a child’s school, home, and community. Mentors spend on average 12-16 hours per month with each child.
We evaluate, measure, and improve.
We know the positive impact of our program because we’ve collected the data to prove it. Independent research has validated our program model in Chicago and across chapters nationally for both the short and long term.
We have developed five research-based focus areas for Professional Mentors to ensure the social and emotional development of our youth.
We empower children to build the autonomy they need to make their own choices, do things for themselves, and take control of their lives while knowing they are not alone.
We help children learn organization, planning, time management all while setting short and long term goals. With goals, children learn that their efforts lead to results and that they can do hard things.
Literacy skills are essential for success in life. We work to restore children’s rights to read and write through a trauma-informed approach to literacy guided by a full-time Education Specialist.
We help children identify and build relationships with a team of trusted individuals above and beyond their Professional Mentor and caregivers so they know they have multiple caring adults and peers in their lives.
We help children identify their physical and emotional needs, learn about their culture, and interests to know and love themselves.
Our brain works from the bottom up.
Everything we experience first goes through the Downstairs Brain. The Downstairs Brain is concerned with survival and emotions. Only once those areas of the brain feel safe and are reassured, does the “security” of our brain allow the Upstairs Brain to process information and think critically. The Upstairs Brain controls language, reasoning, learning, and personality. Conscious control and thought only happens in the Upstairs Brain.
Kids Say:
“I like that my Mentor actually cares about me.”
“You can say anything that comes to mind without being judged.”
“Everything.”
Caregivers Say:
“They’re like an extended family with resources.”
“My favorite thing about FOTC is the support they give to us parents. It really takes a village to raise a child and they’re really helping, and the help is genuine. I have people who actually take the time out their day to assist and check in on my family. I’m so thankful for them.”
“They love my babies the same way I love my babies and they help me in every and anyway they can.”
92% of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country or enter the workforce.
83% of youth earn a high school diploma or GED.
93% of youth remain free from juvenile justice system involvement.
98% of youth wait to parent until after their teen years.