Issue No. 4
December 2024
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Happy Holidays from Friends - Utah!
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Our Biggest Family Celebration Yet
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We celebrated the holiday season in a big way earlier this month with the most well-attended Family Engagement event in our history! 42 youth and their families enjoyed a delicious dinner, decorated festive cookies, and met and took pictures with Santa himself. Each family also received an amazing gift bag to take home with them. It was a truly fun evening celebrating this special season with the families in our program!
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New Friends and Loyal Supporters: A Look at Our Generous Donors
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Recent major donors include O.C. Tanner, the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation, KeyBank Foundation, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Foundation, Utah Financial Services Foundation, Prog Foundation, Enbridge Foundation, and Optum Bank. We’d like to offer a special word of thanks to Call to Action Philanthropies for including an employee well-being allowance for Friends of the Children – Utah staff in their generous recent gift. The mental health of our staff is critically important to us, and we are grateful for the additional support!
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We also want to acknowledge a generous anonymous donor for their recent catalytic gift of $100,000. The work we do supporting and empowering youth and families is only possible with the support of our community, and we are grateful for this vote of confidence in our program!
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Each year, Envision Utah recognizes organizations and individuals doing great things for Utah’s future. We are honored to be one of 3 recipients of this year’s Common Good Award! As part of the awards, we are featured on Envision Utah’s “Your Utah, Your Future” podcast and will be recognized at the awards ceremony later this month.
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Earlier this fall, our Operations Director John Koranicki was honored by the Utah Nonprofits Association Hall of Fame for going “above and beyond in his dedication, leadership, and impact within our community.” Our Friends of the Children – Utah team was proud to nominate him for his exceptional work and dedication to our staff, families, and mission.
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Sparking Hope and Transforming Lives Together
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Thank you to all of you who have already supported our year-end campaign to Spark Hope and Transform Lives. A special thank you to O.C. Tanner, who is generously matching the first $25,000 donated by December 31, 2024, and the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation for their generous $10,000 donation to the campaign.
If you haven’t yet contributed, we still need your help! We are raising $1,000 for each of the 62 youth enrolled with Friends of the Children – Utah, and every donation matters. Please consider donating $50 to stock our clubhouse pantry with nutritious afterschool snacks, $100 to sponsor a mentorship activity out in the community, or whatever amount makes the most sense for you.
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Welcome Our Newest Friends
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Please join us in welcoming our newest Professional Mentors, called Friends: Yarrow and Weston!
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Yarrow Miller is a recent graduate of Western Governors University's Master of Arts in Teaching program with three years of experience in literacy intervention and diverse learner support. Miller is passionate about providing inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive mentorship to help students reach their full potential. By building authentic relationships with students and understanding their individual needs, Yarrow inspires a lifelong love of learning and fosters holistic growth.
Welcome, Yarrow!
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Weston Baumgarten comes to the Friend position with nearly eight years of experience working with kids across residential, school, home, and ABA settings. Weston says his approach with youth is centered in patience, connection, and consistency. He loves getting to know each child’s unique personality and supporting their personal journeys.
Welcome, Weston!
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A Successful Inaugural Fall Festival
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Our first-ever Fall Festival was a tremendous success! Families from our program and Circles Salt Lake came together to enjoy games, food, a photo booth, face painting, and pumpkin decorating. A big thank you to Optum Bank, First Utah Bank, America First Credit Union, and Brooke and Jeff Lewis for sponsoring the event, to our partners at Circles Salt Lake, and to Cambia Health Foundation, Regence BCBS employees, RaeJeane McCutcheon and Harmon’s, Domino’s Pizza, and the Eaglebrook Ward of the Midvale Union Park State for their support of this fun event.
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Celebrating 30 Years of Friends of the Children
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Kelsey, our Executive Director, was privileged to join leaders from across our Friends of the Children national network to celebrate the organization’s 30th Anniversary Gala earlier this fall.
The evening honored founders Duncan and Cindy Campbell for their vision and dedication to empowering youth and families. Friends of the Children Alumni shared their stories and World Champion gymnast and youth advocate Simone Biles was celebrated for her work as a champion for children.
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Visit with Congressman Blake Moore
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Our executive director, Kelsey, had the opportunity discuss the Friends of the Children model and our federal legislative agenda during a meeting with Congressman Blake Moore. He expressed interest in our impact on foster care prevention and family stabilization in particular. We are committed to keeping him updated on our work for youth and families here in Utah.
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Our mailing address is:
Friends of the Children - Utah
5361 S 4220 W
Suite B
Kearns, UT 84118
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