Vote for Kids 'n Kinship in Merchants Bank Community Giving Contest!

Kids 'n Kinship is one of a selected few organizations to take part in a Merchants Bank Facebook Contest on Community Giving!  People can vote on their favorite non-profit  for Merchants Bank to donate funds to.  Almost 50 children are waiting for mentors through Kids 'n Kinship currently.  Please help us compete for funds in order to match them and support the 69 children who are currently matched!  You can vote 3 times a day, (PLEASE DO!) from today through December 15th.  THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

To get started, Like Merchants Bank .

http://www.facebook.com/MerchantsBank and then go to the Community Giving tab as seen below

1.  Click on the Vote now button, shown below.


2. This screen will appear, explaining the purpose of the campaign and campaign rules. Click the "Sign in to vote!" button to cast your vote(s).



3. The first time you vote you'll need to go through a couple steps to set the app up on your Facebook. Click on "Go to App". You will then be asked to "Allow" the app to work on your Facebook. These two steps are only necessary the first time you login.


4. This screen will appear, confirming your are Signed into the app.



5. You will be presented with a scrolling voting screen. Scroll to the nonprofit organization you wish to cast a vote for and click on "Vote," as shown below.


6. You are allowed 3 votes per day which you can do right in a row. If you have already voted 3 times in a day and you try to vote again, you'll simply be presented with this message, encouraging you to come back tomorrow.
 

Help Derek apply for jobs and colleges!

I met this young man recently and was struck by how mature he is, as he is asking for help applying to colleges and getting a job.  He really cares about his family and since his dad died, he tries to be the man of the house.  However, he is a bit socially isolated with his peers because they just don't understand him.  He really needs an adult friend, couple or family who understands loss to hang out with and have fun outside the house.  Could you be a friend to Derek?  All it takes is just being there for a youth in need.

First name:  Derek 

Age:  16

Interests:  He enjoys playing games, watching movies, reading, cooking, & crafts.  He also loves animals and spending time with his baby cousin. He’s in 10^th grade and likes science & math. 

Personality/Characteristics:  Derek is caring and smart.  He lives with his mom and sisters and doesn’t have a guy role model in his life.

    

Goals/Dreams:  Derek wants a mentor to have an extra person to talk to.  He would like to go to the zoo, parks, bowling, mini-golf, or museums, as well as get advice on job applications, college, & cars.

Looking for: A guy mentor to hang out with and talk to.  He's open to couples or families too.

For more information about Derek or mentoring a child in Dakota County, MN, check out our website: www.kidsnkinship.org or attend our next information session on Tuesday Dec. 4, 6:00-6:45 pm at the Burnhaven Library in Burnsville.

Enjoy skiing? Be Isabel's mentor and show her how!

Winter is fast approaching!  It's a great time for winter sports, like skiing and sledding, both of which Isabel enjoys!  It's also a great time to make a difference in a child's life.  Sign up today to include a child in your holiday festivities and in your family life!  We have almost 50 kids waiting for someone to step up and befriend them.

First Name: Isabel

Age: 11

Interests: She enjoys roller-blading, bike riding, swimming, sledding, art & craft projects, playing games, cooking & baking, and watching movies.  She also likes sports, especially volleyball & basketball.

Personality/Characteristics: Isabel is outgoing and friendly. She lives with her single mom and older brother & sister.  She’s in 5^th grade and her favorite subject is math.

Goals/Dreams: She wants to learn how to ski.

Looking for: She wants an individual, couple or family to mentor her and give her advice on how to deal with bullying.

Attend an information session to learn more: Thursday November 15, 6:00-6:45 pm at Wescott Library in Eagan! For more information and other dates, go to our website: www.kidsnkinship.org.

Kids 'n Kinship receives Bob Dayton Quality Mentoring Award!

From Left to Right: Rita Younger, Jan Belmore, Janet Lekson,

 Ingrid Henry

Last Sunday, Kids 'n Kinship received the Bob Dayton Quality Mentoring Award for achievement at the lovely Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota Awards Celebration.  Kids 'n Kinship was 1 of only 4 programs in the state to be recognized with an award that night.  It was such an honor to receive this award! 

This award honors Bob Dayton whose vision led to engaging community leaders in developing the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM) and a statewide plan to connect all youth in Minnesota with caring quality adult mentors.   MPM now supports 140,000 mentoring relationships in Minnesota and is a nation-wide leader in quality mentoring, having instituted the Quality Mentoring Assessment Path (QMAP) tool for mentoring programs to evaluate their process and procedures on national researched-based standards of quality.  Kids 'n Kinship executive director, Jan Belmore, served on the QMAP committee to assess these standards as they were being developed.  Kids 'n Kinship is an Expert Partner with QMAP, having achieved 100% implementation rating on these best practices and standards.

For more information on MPM go to their website: www.mpmn.org

To learn more about Kids 'n Kinship, the youth mentoring program in Dakota County now celebrating 40 years, go to our website: www.kidsnkinship.org

Join us for 13th Annual Bowlathon! Guest Blog by Rita

 

Autumn is here; the leaves are falling, the kids are back in school . .   Give yourself a treat and come bowl with us!  Kids 'n Kinship mentoring is looking for community groups, sports leagues, students and businesses to have a great time at the 13th Annual Bowlathon on November 4th. 

There are lots of ways to be involved:

• Have your group or your company name on a lane for $200.00

• Donate an item or gift certificate for our  Silent Auction

• bring four bowlers with pledges totaling $100.00 and bowl with us on November 4 or a date you choose

Kids ‘n Kinship will recognize sponsors in our newsletter, website, Facebook page and at the Bowlathon. 

register at:   kidsnkinshipbowlathon2012event.eventbrite.com  

 

Questions?  call 651-686-0990 or email:  rykinship@aol.com

 

Put some fun in your fall and join us at the Bowlathon!

Consider being a mentor to a boy like Garrisson!

We have 40 children waiting for a mentor right now.  One for every year Kids 'n Kinship has been serving children in Dakota County.   Most of them are boys, like Garrisson below.  Please consider being a mentor to a child!  

First name:  Garrisson   

Age:  11

Interests:  Garrisson is in 6th grade; he enjoys baseball, fishing, basketball and riding his bike.  he likes anything outdoors.  And he likes art

Personality/Characteristics:  Garrisson is very well mannered, he is friendly and talkative.  He really wants a mentor!  His mom works full time and he does not see his dad - he would love to do activities with a mentor.       

Goals/Dreams:  Garrisson would like to go to a baseball game or other sports event.

Looking For: An individual male mentor, couple, or family who will do activities with him.

For more information or to sign up, go to our website: www.kidsnkinship.org.

Gala a great success!

The Kids ‘n Kinship 40^th Anniversary Gala was a memorable evening.  Our emcee, Tim Sherno of 5 Eyewitness News, did a fantastic job of leading us through the evening in a most entertaining way. We had live music, a silent auction, a wine cork pull, and a delicious meal.  The theme was “Growing Our Community One Relationship At a Time”.  The founder Carol Frick, was presented a piece of artwork of a tree- representing the relationships in the program.  Two mentees spoke of the impact mentoring has had on their lives and a video of many other mentoring relationships was shown.   Kids ‘n Kinship would like to thank all of our sponsors, in-kind donors, and attendees who made the event a success.  To date, $15,000 has been raised to help Kids ‘n Kinship continue serving children in Dakota County.  See below for some photos.