Graduate of Friends of the Children Featured on the Today Show

The youth we serve here in Eastern Idaho are only in kindergarten and first grade. But across our national network, we can see how graduates from Friends of the Children programs have found their spark and written their own stories of success and thriving -- all the way to the Today Show!

Tah-Jae Franklyn, a graduate of Friends of the Children – Seattle, was a featured guest on the fourth hour of the Today Show on January 31st. GRAMMY Award-winning artist Ciara joined Jenna Bush as the guest host, and the two discussed the work of the Why Not You Foundation created by Ciara and Russell Wilson.

The segment began with a video clip of Tah-Jae singing and then explaining her connection to Ciara. As a youth, Tah-Jae met Ciara at Friends of the Children in Seattle. Years later, she had the opportunity to see her again before performing at a youth concert at Seattle Symphony Hall. Those meetings helped inspire Tah-Jae to pursue music professionally, so it was a full-circle moment when Tah-Jae came out on stage during the Today Show to surprise Ciara and thank her for inspiring her years before.

For Tah-Jae, music has always been a lifeline in her life. As a child, singing was an outlet that helped her gain better focus in school, and it became more than a passion when Friends of the Children helped her get singing lessons, and join a group called Arts in Motion.

Tah-Jae lives in Seattle and works behind the makeup counter at Macy’s, also singing as often as she can throughout the city. She has performed at Seattle Climate Pledge Arena with Macklemore, as well as singing the national anthem at a Sounders Game. Until appearing on the Today Show, Tah-Jae had never been to New York. During her Today Show visit, she was surprised to be awarded $5,000 by the Why Not You Foundation and hopes to use the award to create a demo that can give momentum to her music career.

The Why Not You Foundation has been partnering with Friends of the Children since 2016, including visits by Ciara and Russel to the Portland chapter, grant awards to support our work, and donations of clothing, shoes, and accessories to youth and families.

Watch the video from the Today Show here.