Max M. Miller Jr.

One of the best gifts to give a child is a consistent presence. Tonkon Torp attorney Max Miller, Jr. knows this from raising his own child, and he now offers the same support and stability as a mentor with Faithful Friends.

Faithful Friends is a community-based program that matches vulnerable children aged six to nine with mentors for a year or more. Max met the program's founder over two decades ago and ended up joining the Faithful Friends board in 2018. After becoming more knowledgeable about the program, Max and his wife Lori signed up to train to be mentors late last summer, and were matched shortly after.

“It was friendship at first sight,” recalls Max after meeting their young mentee. Born premature at just 1.5 pounds, their now eight-year-old friend remains small in stature but has grown into a vivacious personality. She is articulate, reads tremendously well, and has a loving home with her grandmother. One thing that her family felt would be beneficial to her was a consistent and positive male presence.

Max, Lori, and their mentee get together on a weekly basis to just live life and have fun. Playing games, walking the dog, going to bible study, and trips to the grocery store are sprinkled with special outings like taking in a play at the Northwest Children’s Theater. The goal isn’t to buy children in the program a lot of gifts and make every outing spectacular. Rather, mentors like Max and Lori provide a consistent and steady influence on their mentee's life, reinforcing the importance of responsibility, school, family, and making good life choices. Max shared, “The most important thing is that we show up when we say we will, and never add any disappointment to her life.”

When kids graduate from the Faithful Friends program, usually sometime after  10 years old, the hope is that the friendship continues beyond the agreed upon term of the mentorship. For Max and Lori, a long-term relationship with their new friend is something they are looking forward to building.