Friends was founded in 1999 by a group of community leaders who recognized the need for an organization to support children by providing them with an adult friend to build a positive relationship.  One part-time coordinator was hired to coordinate and implement Friends under Walla Walla County’s Department of Human Services (DHS).

·      October 1999 – Friends matched the first adult friend with a child.

·      July 2002 – Friends left the auspice of DHS to become a non-profit organization.

·      November 2002 -- DHS received a 3-yr. grant to coordinate the Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP) from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which out stationed the first full-time staff to the Friends office starting in April 2003.

2003 Milestones

·      June 2003 – Friends implemented Lunch with Friends as a recruitment campaign and bring awareness of the program to the community.

·      September 2003 – Friends hosted the first volunteer recognition event.

·      November 2003 – The Donald and Virginia Sherwood Trust awarded Friends a 3-yr. grant to help our organization to secure, develop, and diversify funding through a long-term fund development program and hire a full-time Development Director.

·      December 2003 – Friends moved the organization’s office location to 9 S. 2^nd Avenue with in-kind rent discount from Sterling Savings Bank.

2004 Milestones

·      May 2004 – Friends kicked off the organization’s first major fundraiser called Breakfast with Friends at the Marcus Whitman Ballroom, with 400 attendees.

·      July 2004 – Friends raised enough funds from the Breakfast with Friends to employ a full-time Executive Director.

·      September 2004 – Friends reached a program benchmark of 100 active matched volunteers in the Walla Walla community.

·      October 2004 – Friends joined the Washington State Mentoring Partnership (WSMP) and embraced a position on their Provider’s Council.

·      December 2004 – Friends hosted the first donor recognition event.

2005 Milestones

·      January 2005 – Friends hosted the second volunteer recognition event during National Mentoring Month.

·      May 2005 – Friends successfully held the second annual Breakfast with Friends with corporate sponsorship from Coldwell Banker Realtors and Coldwell Bank Mortgage.

·      June 2005—Friends received a 3-yr. grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for program expansion and community outreach, which the third full-time staff was hired to champion this project as the Multicultural Marketing/Recruitment Director.

·      October 2005 – Friends presented at the Washington State Prevention Summit in Yakima, WA on Rural Mentoring Programs.

2006 Milestones

·      January 2006 – Friends secured funding from the O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation to continue the JUMP Coordinator’s position for three additional years when the JUMP grant expired in December 2005.  The position expanded to encompass beyond the parameters of the JUMP grant and allowed the organization to hire the fourth full-time staff member, Friends Program Coordinator.

·      January 2006 – Friends hosted the first combination Donor/Volunteer Recognition Event at Whitman’s Reid Campus Center, with guest speaker, Lt. Governor, Brad Owen, and three Friends graduates in honor of National Mentoring Month. 

·      January 2006 – Friends hosted the first program field trip with funding from the Faternal Order of the Eagles of Walla Walla, Aerie #29 to the Sonics Game in Seattle, WA.

·      April 2006 – Friends received the “Agency of the Year” award from the Washington State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in Seattle, WA.

·      June 2006 –Whitman College’s radio station, KWCW 90.5 FM, started sponsoring an hour radio talk show on a weekly basis.

·      July 2006 – Friends successfully held the first annual Sweet Onion Festival Fun Run with over 50 participants.

·      September 2006 – Friends implemented a site-based partnership between Walla Walla College (WWC) and College Place School District.

2007 Milestones

·      January 2007 – Friends hosted 2^nd annual Donor/Volunteer Recognition event with guest speaker, Eric Liu, author of Guiding Lights: How to Mentor - and Find Life's Purpose, the Official Book of National Mentoring Month.

·      April 2007 – Friends participated in the Washington Park Children’s Day in collaboration with Commitment to Community and 2006 Sherwood Leadership Class.

·      May 2007 – Walla Walla Valley Academy Senior Class and Friends partnered for the first yard sale fundraiser.

·      May 2007 – Friends successfully held the fourth annual Breakfast with Friends with corporate sponsorship from Coldwell Banker Realtors and Coldwell Bank Mortgage, plus organized “Volunteer Recruitment Strategies” workshop with Dr. Susan Weinberger, founder and president of the Mentor Consulting Group with sponsorship from Home Loan Center.