Mercy Home's Friends First mentoring program matches children ages 9-17 with adult volunteers to form caring and reliable mentor relationships. For over 20 years, the program has successfully matched over 1,000 children with mentors. Mentors spend a few hours each month with their mentee doing fun activities like visiting museums, parks, and sporting events. These small acts of mentorship can make a lifetime of difference for a child by helping them build self-esteem, confidence, and resist negative peer pressure. The program provides training and ongoing support to mentors to foster meaningful relationships between each mentor-mentee pair.