Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Kids 'n Kinship is gearing up for 15th Annual Bowlathon!

We are excited for our 15th Annual Bowlathon this Sunday April 27th at Cedarvale Lanes, 3883 Cedar Grove Parkway!  

First our own mentors, mentees, youth on the waiting list and their families bowl from 3-5 pm. They get to enter the raffle, have pop & chips, and compete for prizes for individual adult and youth who each bring in the most pledges for Kids 'n Kinship, and for high scores!

Then community bowlers bowl from 5-7 pm.  Community bowlers can sign up for $25 which covers bowling and shoes, all you can eat and drink chips and pop, and this Kids 'n Kinship baseball cap!  We have a $25 Visa gift card as a prize for the individual who brings in the most pledges/donations for Kids 'n Kinship and a $25 Applebee's gift card for the individual high score.  We have just a few spots for teams left! 
baseball cap.jpg


Not able to attend but still wish to donate to our cause?  Donations can be made here: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Kids-N-Kinship

We will have lots of wonderful items in our Raffle, thanks to our fabulous inkind donors!
Pill speaker & stand


Eagan-area gift card pinwheel (Jensen's Supper Club,
Doolittle's Woodfire Grill, Sam's Club, City Image Salon, & more)
Vikings autographed photo of Jerome Simpson
Lakeville basket (with tickets to the Taste of Lakeville event,
passes to MN Pro Paintball, gift certificates to Perkins)
Food & Necessities basket (with items from Valley Natural Foods, 
Cub foods gift cards, gas card from SuperAmerica & more)





Burnsville basket (with gift cards/passes to Buca di Beppo, Champs,
The Old Country Buffet, Roasted Pear, & Grand Slam)
Lillian's of Farmington basket (with purse, sunglasses, shawl, & more)


Tickets are 3 for $5, 7 for $10 or 20 for $20.  Raffle tickets may be reserved in advance via check or cash.  You do not need to be present to win.


All of our donors & sponsors, thanks for your support of Kids 'n Kinship!

Corporate Sponsor
Stockman Financial Services

Lane Sponsors
AAA Minnesota/Iowa, Applewood Orchard, Burnsville Lunch Rotary, Dakota Electric Association, Keller Williams, Klein Bank, Lakeville Family Chiropractic, Marshall Nelson & Associates, Media Relations Inc., Northern Dakota Chapter of Thrivent Financial, Superior Service Center Auto Repair

Pin Sponsors
Barb Anderson, Bremer Bank, The Credit Department

InKind Donors

Abdallah Candies & Gifts, Buca di Beppo, Cedarvale Lanes, Champs, City Image Salon, Cub Foods Eagan, Cub Foods Apple Valley, Deena Mahowald, Doolittle’s Woodfire Grill, Grand Slam, J. J. Taylor, Jensen’s Supper Club, Kathy Heisler, Lillian’s of Farmington, Media Relations Inc., Merchants Bank, Michael Moschgianis, Minnesota Vikings, MN Pro Paintball, Ovation Brands, Perkins Lakeville, Ratzlaff Homes Inc., Roasted Pear, Sam’s Club Eagan, Target Eagan, Valley Natural Foods, Wings Financial Credit Union, YMCA in Eagan

Friday, April 4, 2014

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

First, some statistics on child abuse:

In 2011, 6.2 million children were referred to Child Protective Services (CPS).
In 2011, 3.7 million children were investigated for maltreatment by CPS.
In 2011, 676,569 children were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect.*

It is staggering how many child suffer some form of abuse or neglect!  

Nurturing is what we need to do for our children and especially for children who have been abused in any form. Nurturing is showing love and caring for children. Here are some ways to nurture the children in your life:

TRUST AND RESPECT
• Acknowledge children’s right to have their own feelings, friends, activities and opinions.
• Promote independence
• Allow for privacy
• Respect feelings for (other) parent
• Believe (your) children

PROMOTE EMOTIONAL SECURITY
• Talk and act so that children feel safe and comfortable expressing themselves
• Be gentle
• Be dependable

PROVIDE PHYSICAL SECURITY
• Provide food, shelter, clothing
• Teach personal hygiene and nutrition
• Monitor safety
• Maintain a family routine
• Attend to wounds

PROVIDE DISCIPLINE
• Be consistent
• Ensure rules appropriate to age and development of children
• Be clear about limits and expectations
• Use discipline to give instruction, not punishment

GIVE AFFECTION
• Express verbal and physical affection
• Be affectionate when you children are physically or emotionally hurt

GIVE TIME
• Participate in your children’s lives: activities, school, sports, special events and days, celebrations, friends
• Include your children in your activities
• Reveal who you are to your children

ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT
• Be affirming
• Encourage children to follow their interest
• Let children disagree with you
• Recognize improvement
• Teach new skills
• Let them make mistakes

CARE FOR YOURSELF
• Give yourself personal time
• Keep yourself healthy
• Maintain friendships
• Accept love

* from http://www.firststar.org/library/national-statistics.aspx
**Reprinted from http://www.prokinship.org: Kinship Link; March 2014 Newsletter

If you are interested in nurturing a child in Dakota County as a mentor through Kids 'n Kinship, attend an information session on April 22, 6-6:45 pm at Wescott Library in Eagan.  Call 651-686-0990 to register.  You can learn more about our program on our website - www.kidsnkinship.org