PORTLAND, Ore. -- It’s Friday afternoon at the Oaks Park roller rink in Southeast Portland, and there's a lot of father power here.

Joe Bergen is helping shepherd the group.

“Young men having role models to look up to is so critical in our community,” he said. “And frequently our children don't have their dads in their lives. So, our male role models who work with the children are very important for those reasons."

He’s referring to a unique organization called Friends of the Children.

They’ve gathered at the rink to celebrate the end of the school year.

It’s a program started here in Portland 16 years ago by self-made millionaire named Duncan Campbell.

He had rough childhood and vowed to help others if he could.

In 1993 Campbell funded the program with $2 million out of his own pocket.

Friends of the Children hires mentors to work full time with 8 to 12 children. They begin with the child in kindergarten and ---get this---follow them all the way through high school graduation.

Tim Shaw mentors boys like Ricky, a grinning 9-year-old in red shirt and roller skates.

Shaw grew up without a father himself.

“This is a huge way for me to give back, and be there for somebody even though I didn’t have a father in my life,” he said.

"It kinda is a way I can be a father to all the kids I work with. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and will continue to do thru out my life," said Shaw.

Friends of the Children mentors both boys and girls.

You can tell the boys appreciate the fatherly attention.

Ricky certainly does.

"Its fun and you can play around with him---and sometimes he picks me up by my ears!" said Ricky.

As we watched, they showed us how Tim and Ricky interlock arms and with Tim’s hands on the back of Ricky’s head, lifts him off the ground.

It’s a good example of the physical interaction some boys crave.

Hershell Tidwell is another mentor who did not have a father for much of his life.

Now he pours out a father's wisdom into the 8 year old he mentors.

"I can see those influences, you know, getting with them; and sometimes I can kind of be there to pull them out and say next time try to do something different or maybe even watch the company that you keep," said Tidwell.

It’s the sort of thing a father would say---and they say it a lot in this unique program that's helping so many.

Friends of the Children currently mentors 700 children with chapters in 7 cities. 350 of the children live in Oregon.

The organization says 82% graduate from high school, 92% avoid trouble with the law and 98% avoid early parenting.

Other father-friendly resources include dadsworld.com, hosted by Portland realtor Rick Gray, and the faith-based Mentoring Project.