Enjoy sports and being outdoors? Share them with a boy in your community!

Below is a profile for one of the almost 50 children waiting for a friend right here in Dakota County.  Chips is typical of the boys in our program in that he lives with his mom, has little if any contact with his dad, and is desperate for a chance to get outside and do guy stuff with someone.  Could that someone be you?  Please consider befriending a boy through Kids 'n Kinship!  We provide orientation, training, and on-going support and all it takes is an hour or two a week of doing what you already do (i.e. going to parks, sports, grilling, working on the car, landscaping, etc.) with a boy this summer.

First name:  Chips
Age:  9
Interests:  Chips likes playing basketball, football, and baseball as well as skateboarding, swimming, & bowling.
Personality/Characteristics:  He is active and eager to go places and spend time outside this summer.  He lives with his single parent mom and his younger brother. Chips is in 3rd grade and likes math in school.  
Goals/Dreams:  His wish is for a mentor who can take him places and have fun with him
Looking For:  He and his mom would like a male mentor or couple who can meet with him, getting together for outdoor activities, sports, and games.
For More Information: Chips is one of almost 50 children waiting for a mentor through Kids ‘n Kinship, a private nonprofit serving Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville and Rosemount in Dakota County for 40 years. If you're interested in becoming a mentor, you're invited to attend an information session from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. Tuesday June 12th at the Wescott Library in Eagan. Mentors can volunteer as individuals, couples, or families for weekly fun and enriching activities at home or in the community on their own schedules. Contact us at 952-892-6368 or go to our website www.kidsnkinship.org.

Guest Blog: A little fun makes a world of difference

Ten years ago I read a newspaper article that articulated the benefit mentoring can provide to children needing a role model/friend; benefits such as an improved self worth, a greater likelihood of staying in school and staying out of trouble......and simply spending some time having fun.  It took a couple of years to get me motivated, but the article eventually inspired me to contact Dakota County based Kids 'n Kinship, learn the process of becoming a mentor, and then becoming one.

For me, it was a life changing experience.  My initial concern of committing time to meet with the 11 year old boy I was matched with once a week quickly evaporated with the good times we had together.  Our activities included bowling, shooting pool, cooking out on the grill, board games, movies and biking.  As he matured, I taught him to play racquetball and cribbage--he is now 19 years old, and beats me regularly at both.  A mentor's role is to be a role model, and a friend, to offer encouragement, and to be nonjudgmental.  In addition to being there for him, he was there for me.  I wouldn't understand half of the features that that today's electronic gadgetry offered if he wasn't there to teach me.  

Along with several companions, I created and have ridden the Merchants Bank Christian Elder Memorial 900 each of the past six years.  The ride, a memorial to my son Christian Elder, is ridden as a benefit to Kids 'n Kinship.  We embark on our seventh Christian Elder Memorial 900 on May 24.  Those interested in following our bicycling adventure are invited to check out our Road Diary on the website http://www.cem900.com./

Tonight I'm spending some time with my friend.  I am no longer his formal mentor; he has his own apartment living in Minneapolis.  I treasure the time spent with him as a youngster, as a teenager, and finally as a young adult.  My only concern for this evening is which one of us will win at cribbage..........

- John Elder, ambassador & former mentor with Kids 'n Kinship