Friends Program

The Friends Program, Inc. Is a Non-profit Human Services Agency Operating Since 1975 With Four Programs: a Youth Mentoring Program, Emergency Housing for Families, Foster Grandparent Program and RSVP - Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. 106 or More Foster Grandparent Program Volunteers Will Serve Each Year. These Volunteers Will Support Children's Development in a Variety of Ways. Some Foster Grandparents Will Provide One-to-one and Small Group Tutoring to Improve Student Engagement, Attendance, and Attitudes Toward Education. Supported Students Will See Improved Outcomes in Literacy as Well as Mathematics as a Result of Their Increased Engagement. Some Foster Grandparents Will Provide Social and Emotional Support to Improve Students' Understanding of Task Organization and to Increase Task Completion. Foster Grandparents Will Provide Help to Students With Assignment Planning, Problem-solving, and Provide Behavioral Reinforcement at the Direction of the Teacher. Those Foster Grandparents Assigned to Child Care and Head Start Programs Will Support Pre-literacy Activities and Emotional Development Through Reading Aloud, Supporting Task Completion, Encouraging Cooperation, and Providing One-to-one Attention. All Foster Grandparents Will Serve as Positive Role Models and Promote Each Child's Development. the Primary Focus Area Is Education. at the End of the Three-year Grant, 1,371 Disadvantaged Children and Youth Will Show Evidence of Increased Academic Engagement as Evaluated by Their Teachers. These Students Will Demonstrate Effects Such as Improved Attendance, Improved Attitudes Towards Education, Improved Behavior, and Improved Organization and Task Completion. These Improvements Will Support Stronger Results in Literacy and Mathematics. 297 Young Children (under 6) Who Are At-risk or in Poverty Will Improve Their Social and Emotional Development. These Most Vulnerable Children Will Demonstrate Improved Self-control, Increased Cooperation and Improved Social Relationships. the Gains for Many Will Be Accompanied by Stronger Pre-math and Pre-literacy Skills. in Addition, a Total of More Than 3,000 Children and Youth Will Be Positive Impacted by the Service and Support of a Foster Grandparent in Their Classroom. the CNCS Federal Investment of $546,790 Will Be Supplemented With $140,147 in Non-federal Resources Representing the Support of the New Hampshire Communities.