Record Breaking $2.5 Million Raised at 25th Friends of the Children Benefit

Portland, OR. Friends of the Children celebrated 25 years by raising $2.51 million at its annual Friend Raiser benefit on May 10th. More than 740 guests came out for the event to honor Friends of the Children founders Duncan and Cindy Campbell as well as the hundreds of current program youth and alumni who’ve benefited from having a professional mentor in their lives. At the event, founder Duncan Campbell, was joined on stage by 25 current and former program youth and professional mentors to commemorate 25 years of Friends of the Children. (Photo credit, Kelly Mooney and Justine Reimnitz)

Presented by Express Employment Professionals and Verizon, the event began with an open house at the Friends of the Children headquarters and a silent auction. Guests moved from room to room, grazing on gourmet hors d’oeuvres and sipping bubbles, while bidding on garden, wine, and vacation packages. Friends and youth then helped guide supporters to a massive tent for the evening’s live program through their famous high-five tunnel.

With only 10 live auction packages and a fast-paced special appeal, the crowd’s energy stayed high and the paddles were raised even higher. When all was said and done, the event set a new fundraising record at $2.51 million. Of that, $1.7 million was raised in the special appeal alone.

Before the record breaking special appeal, Randy Corradine, Director of Education & Equity, whose siblings are program graduates, addressed the audience and Friends of the Children founder, Duncan Campbell. “Duncan, you created this… Everyone in the crowd tonight is here because of you. Everyone on this stage and peppered throughout this space is here because of you. In 25 years, you have impacted thousands of lives and because of the ripple effect, those impacted lives will impact tens of thousands more lives in the next 25 years.”

From Friends of the Children:

Friends of the Children – Portland would like to extend a huge thank you to their major event sponsors!

Express Employment Professionals

Verizon

Columbia Forest Products

Acme Construction Supply

Campbell Global

Bob’s Red Mill

Grand + Benedicts

Touchmark

Wieden + Kennedy

Convergence Networks

CareOregon

Friends of the Children – Portland is the founding chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. For 25 years, Friends of the Children has used evidence-based strategies, long-term interventions, and nurturing relationships to serve youth facing the greatest societal challenges. For every $1 invested in program youth, $7 is returned to the community in savings within the public sector and contributions to the private sector, according to a Harvard Alumni Association of Oregon research. This year, Friends of the Children was named the number one Most-Admired Nonprofit in Oregon by the Portland Business Journal for the fourth time in six years.