Can't wait for the Twins Season Opener? Neither can Jack!

7-year-old Jack is waiting for a mentor who likes baseball to take him to games and spend time with him once a week.  Is he waiting for you? 

First Name: Jack

Age:  7

Interests: Jack enjoys swimming, playing tag and hide/seek, sledding and playing with hot wheels cars.

Personality/Characteristics: Jack is friendly, active and would love to go to a Twins game. He lives with his mom, sister, grandmother and great grandparents.

Goals/Dreams: Jack would like a mentor who likes baseball and art.

Jack is waiting for a mentor through Kids 'n Kinship, a non-profit organization based in Dakota County which matches individuals, couples & families with kids ages 5-16 for weekly fun and enriching activities.  Volunteer mentors support the child's interests, hobbies & schoolwork and build a positive relationship together.  For more information, go to www.kidsnkinship.org.  Attend an information session to learn more - our next one is Thursday Feb. 21st, 6-6:45 pm at the Wescott Library in Eagan.  To RSVP, call Rita at 651-686-0990.

Mentor Lucas if you like sports or engineering

Kids 'n Kinship still has 36 children waiting for mentors.  Here's one who is still waiting!  Lucas is fun-loving and up for doing almost anything!  He especially likes sports and taking apart and putting things back together.  If you're into sports or engineering, please consider being his mentor!

First name: Lucas

Age: 6

Interests: Lucas enjoys animals, bike riding, swimming, playing with remote control cars, almost all sports and doing puzzle boxes.

Personality: Lucas is silly, fun, outgoing and active. He is a big helper at home with his mom.

Goals/Dreams: He wants to learn how to play ice hockey and soccer.

Looking For: An individual male mentor or a couple to mentor him.

For More Information: Lucas is one of almost 40 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 over 40 years. If you're interested in becoming a mentor, you're invited to attend an information session from 6 to 6:45 p.m. Feb. 21 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. To learn more about mentoring, visit the Kids 'n Kinship website.

Kids 'n Kinship Thanks Our Mentors

In honor of National Mentoring Month, the staff at Kids 'n Kinship wish to thank our mentors for their dedication:

From Ingrid Henry, Kinship Coordinator: 
"When I first interviewed for my job with Kids 'n Kinship, it seemed that mentoring was about having fun with kids.  I, too, wanted to mentor so I could go to apple orchards and corn mazes, the zoo and science museum, and all the other kid-oriented fun activities I could think of!  But after 5 years of supervising mentor matches and 4 years of mentoring a girl myself, I now know that mentoring isn't primarily about the activities.  It's about the relationship and just spending time together.  Over and over again the kids say that their favorite activities are the ones where the match just go to the mentor's home and play cards or cook together or watch a movie.  Kids are so thirsty for attention from adults, it's not about the activities.  And that's why I couldn't be more thrilled that we have so many wonderful mentors willing to offer their mentees their undivided attention and valuable time.  It really does make a difference to each and every child!"

Rita Younger, Program Coordinator, speaks about gratitude and echoes the importance of the little things:  

"I am sure many of us are nearly overcome by feelings of gratitude as we go about our days - this is very true of mentoring.  I enjoy witnessing and hearing about kids, parents, guardians and mentors and their relationships.  Sometimes, I need to pause to comprehend the intensity of mentoring. One of my favorite quotes is: 'He has taught me a lot about generosity, unselfishness, compassion for others' - and this from a mentor! From another mentor: 'I’d been thinking of all the sights we could show him, but all he wanted to do was roast marshmallow, kick the soccer ball around with my daughter, and skip rocks.  It made me appreciate those little things we take for granted.  It is so much fun to be matched with him.' Year round, but particularly during National Mentoring month, I am grateful for the wonderful mentors and mentees in my life!"

Kids ‘n Kinship’s Director, Jan Belmore comments on the big picture:  

"Mentors are the backbone of our organization and without them, we would be unable to accomplish our mission.  Over the years, I have been blessed to meet so many great people and I am humbled to see the dedication and enthusiasm they bring to their mentoring.  We are deeply grateful to all who call a child their friend in our program."

So, THANK YOU MENTORS!

To learn more about kidsnkinship, go to www.kidsnkinship.org

Already miss holiday shopping? Take this 13 y.o. out for shopping & to chat!

In honor of January being National Mentoring Month, Kids 'n Kinship is posting a waiting child each week here on our blog.  Please consider mentoring a child!  We have almost 40 kids waiting for an adult, couple, or family to befriend them!

First name:  Phoenix

Age:  13

Interests:  Phoenix likes shopping and talking - at school she likes life science and math.  She also likes crafts, music and visiting.

Personality/Characteristics:  She struggles with peer pressure and makes friends easily.  Her single parent mom is looking for a mentor Phoenix can look up to and trust and who can give her daughter positive guidance and the opportunity for activities.

Goals/Dreams:  Phoenix is in 8th grade and would like a mentor to hang out with, go out to eat and watch all kinds of movies!

For more information: Phoenix is waiting for a mentor through Kids n’ Kinship. To learn more about us, go to our website at www.kidsnkinship.org. We have information sessions every few weeks - the next one is January 10, 6:00-6:45 pm at the Wescott Library in Eagan.  To RSVP contact Rita Younger 651-686-0990 or rykinship@aol.com. Join us!

To learn more about National Mentoring Month: go to www.nationalmentoringmonth.org

Thoughts on the Newtown Shooting

All of us at Kids 'n Kinship are deeply saddened by the events of the shooting in Newtown, CT, last Friday.  To see so many young lives cut short along with their teachers' seems so horribly wrong. When tragedies like this occur, it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects: grieving the many who have died, being afraid of copycat shooters, feeling horrified that anyone would be this heedlessly destructive of human life (especially children’s!). However, there are also stories of heroism and compassion surrounding events like this. News is surfacing of the teachers who were heroes that day.  Consider 27-year-old Victoria Soto, who urged the children in her classroom to hide in closets and cabinets, saving their lives, though losing her own.  Consider the many who have responded with compassion by sending cards to the school, wearing the Sandy Hook Elementary school colors in honor of the those who died, and more. 

While there has been, and no doubt will continue to be, much debate about gun control and mental health issues in the wake of this tragedy all in an effort to prevent others, I encourage you to focus on the more positive aspect of doing something (whether through a formal program or informally to strengthen and support youth.  Today's children and youth need the guidance of adults to wade through these difficult times.  We all need to do our part to teach children empathy and kindness, values, and how to cope when their emotions and circumstances seem out of control.   You don't have to have the answers to questions that arise from this tragedy, kids just need people to talk to, people to support them through this, people to teach them other ways to deal with our challenging world. Be a friend to child.

Here’s an article with some tips on how caring adults can help children in the wake of the shooting:

http://safety.macaronikid.com/article/407864/coping-with-the-connecticut-tragedy

For more information on Kids 'n Kinship, go to our website: www.kidsnkinship.org

To find a mentoring program in your area, go to http://www.mentoring.org/get_involved/become_a_mentor