The development of the ideas that led to the creation of Friends of the Children—a long-term, professional youth mentoring program that works with children from kindergarten to high school graduation and beyond—and the years that followed, are recounted by the founders, businessman Duncan Campbell and psychologist Orin Bolstad. Both were CEOs of large organizations when they met. Their friendship and collaboration led to the design of a program that addressed gaps in prevention programming for youth within neighborhoods such as the distressed and impoverished neighborhood in which Duncan grew up. The elements of the program were informed not only by Duncan’s experiences as a child but by his experiences working in community service positions during adulthood, as well as by Orin’s professional and community service experiences. With initial funding from Duncan and Cindy Campbell and the support of numerous partners over the years, Friends of the Children has grown from one non-profit operating in Duncan’s childhood neighborhood to a network of local non-profits operating professional youth mentoring programs in multiple neighborhoods throughout the United States, as well as a national non-profit intended to support local efforts. Since the beginning, the work of Friends of the Children has been informed by research on child development and resilience as well as by internal evaluation and research. In 2007, an independent randomized controlled trial of the program was launched that is still in progress today. Other such studies have followed. Over the past three decades, the work of Friends of the Children has been driven by a commitment to the principles of focus, action, and perseverance.