Dear Friends of Friends: I want to thank each of you who has made our NO MATTER WHAT! Campaign so successful. But we’re not stopping there! We are excited to announce that we’ve received a generous $250,000 challenge grant from an Anonymous donor, which will double the impact of every additional dollar we raise, so we are: Doubling the goal of our campaign to $1 million; and Adding a crowdfunding element to the campaign, to make it easy and fun for each of you to reach out to your friends and colleagues to help support our children. We select our children precisely because they face the greatest barriers and Covid-19 is creating even more barriers, many of which will linger long after a vaccine has been discovered. That is why our long-term commitment to each child is so important. To give just one example, the coronavirus will explode the academic achievement gap that already existed between the children we serve and their more affluent peers. Educators have long noted the “summer slide” – children from low-income households generally keep pace with their peers during the school year but fall significantly farther behind during each summer break. With the City’s schools closed at least through September, this year’s summer slide started four months early! As always, we’re there to address our children’s evolving needs. We’re supplying laptops and WiFi connections so they can access online learning opportunities, we’re supporting their families’ nutritional and other urgent needs, and our Professional Mentors are finding innovative ways to provide remotely the emotional and academic support they’ve come to expect. We’re continuing to invest a lot in each child because they need it now more than ever, and we need your help to do that. Please join our crowdfunding campaign and give your friends and colleagues an opportunity to support our children: If you’d prefer to make a simple donation to support our children in their time of need, please click here: Thank You for Supporting Our Children! Michael Michael Rugen SF Co-Founder & Executive Director     111 Quint Street | San Francisco, CA 94124 | 415-400-4998 | info@friendssfbayarea.org