Introducing Friends of the Children to New Communities in Eastern Oregon

In April, Friends of the Children’s Chief Expansion Officer Angela Groves visited La Grande, Oregon to share about Friends of the Children’s program and the work that has been done over the last year to bring the program to Union County. Around sixty local residents gathered at Tap That Growlers for the “Bringing Friends of the Children to Eastern Oregon” event to learn more.

As Friends of the Children grows our program across the country, we look to expand into new locations by invitation. So far, Angela has made four trips to Eastern Oregon to meet with local stakeholders to see if we'd be a good fit and where Friends of the Children can add to the continuum of support for children and families.

“It’s been resoundingly positive and welcoming and amazing, particularly Union County is where we’ve had the most traction and momentum,” Angela said.

Many phenomenal local advocates have emerged in the community to work towards bringing Friends of the Children to the area, including Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen, Union County Commissioner Paul Anderes and La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza, as well as the Union County Juvenile Department’s Director Ben Morgan and Resilience Coordinator Kitia Chambers. Thank you to Tap That Growlers for donating 10% of sales during the event to Friends of the Children.

To read the full article in the La Grande about Friends of the Children’s event in Eastern Oregon, please click here.