The San Francisco Chapter of Friends of the Children (FOC) hosted over 400 young people at the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Saturday night to celebrate the non-profit organization's efforts to reach out to at-risk kids. FOC Executive Director, Anna Yen, spearheaded the Second Annual "Bouncing Ball" event, which raised $16,000 alone through its live auction.

Vice-Chair, Maureen Blanc, credited Yen for her ability to attract a new generation of donors. "It is refreshing to see so many young faces here willing to give back to their community," said Blanc.

Two of the young faces in the crowd on Saturday were forty year-old, Mike Pope, CEO of the publicly-traded E-Learning Services Company, DigitalThink, and thirty-four year-old, Tony Trousset, Managing Director of UBS Investment Bank. "Thanks, in part, to their generous support," said Anna Yen, "we were able to raise over $100,000 in one night, which will go toward supporting our current Friends. This significant contribution will also help 'our kids' stay off the street and support them in breaking the harmful lifecycles that continue to plague the Bayview Hunter's Point and Sunnydale communities."

FOC Chair, Louise Renne, Mayor Newsom, an Enthusiastic Donor, and Auctioneer, Richard PioRoda

Anna Yen, together with Louise Renne, FOC - San Francisco Chair, also succeeded in getting Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney, Kamala Harris to attend the event. Both stopped by the Mark Hopkins to greet the guests in attendance.

In addition, Yen was successful in coordinating a private lunch for six with Newsom, as one of the live auction items. Of the seven live auction items, the lunch with Newsom was the hot ticket of the night -- raising $4,500. David Drummond, Vice President of Corporate Development at Google, was the winner of this hotly contested auction "get."

David Drummond

Earlier in the evening, Drummond, who has the presence of a celebrity, spoke to the crowd about the impact they can have on the four Friends employed by FOC San Francisco, and the eight kids they each serve. Drummond was invited by long-time friend and previous Wilson Sonsini and SmartForce co-worker, Anna Yen, to encourage the audience to not only give money and resources themselves, but to be proactive about getting organizations they are affiliated with to give.

Google, for instance, has recently offered Friends of the Children a Google AdSense Grant. Google's selection of FOC as a “Google Grant” recipient provides Friends of The Children with free advertising in the public service ads which Google display as part of its AdSense program. (Editor's Note: Rugged Elegance supports Google's AdSense program on this web site and is proud to feature Google's public service ads.)

Google has also created a unique Community Service Directory focused on subjects like philanthropy, volunteering & service, and more specifically, kids and teens. Since Friends of the Children's Grant is so new, the organization is not yet listed in this directory. However, some of the organizations currently profiled include "venture philanthropists," and those that offer "in kind services."

Other corporations that are helping Friends of the Children and/or that sponsored Saturday night's event include: UBS Investment Bank, California Transplant Donor Network, and Sephora.

Friends of the Children - San Francisco, started in Portland Oregon by Duncan Campbell, is one of eleven cities nationwide, that has created a prevention/early intervention program whose mission is to help highest risk children develop the relationships, goals, and skills necessary to break the cycles of poverty, abuse and violence, in order to become contributing members of society.

The San Francisco Chapter's goal is to welcome at least 16 additional children and two new mentors into the organization each year. Several factors distinguish Friends’ approach from other youth development programs:

-- Early Intervention - an emphasis on early intervention, as young as ages 6 and 7;

-- Paid, Professional Mentors – professional, not volunteer, mentors who have experience working with high-risk children; and

-- A 12-Year Program - a commitment to sustain the child-mentor relationship and provide supportive services on a consistent basis through the child’s completion of high school.

Each week, the mentors -- or Friends spend quality one-on-one time with "their children" by being present in the classroom, home, after school and on weekends. During these visits, the Friends teach valuable life skills, positive attitudes, proper behavior and the importance of education. The mentors responsibilities include the emotional and physical well-being of their children, teaching of every-day necessities like personal hygiene, exposing the children to cultural and social activities beyond what they would normally encounter, fostering of the children’s educational development and teaching the children to develop successful life strategies. The ultimate goal is to help children grow into responsible and productive adults.

The San Francisco chapter was launched in 2001 with the financial support of Steve Young's Forever Young Foundation and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation to serve children from the Bayview Hunters Point and Sunnydale communities.

Your contribution will bring Friends of the Children one step closer to achieving their goals.

If you are inspired to help Friends of the Children's San Francisco Chapter reach their goals, please call Executive Director, Anna Yen at 415.715.0240 or write:

Friends of the Children
P.O. Box 24472
San Francisco, CA 94124

For further information go to: FriendsoftheChildrenSF.org

Inspire & Be Inspired (tm).

~Jennifer King, Trustee, Thrive Foundation for Youth