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.

 

Preparing for 40th Anniversary Gala Part 2: A Reason to Celebrate

Guest Blog, Jan Belmore, Executive Director

Why Celebrate?  As I look back on the years that Kids ‘n Kinship has served this community, I see so much good that the program has accomplished in our young people.  We often use the phrase “Make a difference- Mentor a child”.   Kids ‘n Kinship really DOES make a difference.  I have seen it over and over again. I have been with the program for 20 of the past 40 years.  Sufficient time to see the children grow into themselves, into confidence, into adulthood! The preventive force of mentoring is inspiring when you look at the impact on one person at a time.  Sometimes you see small changes, like a shy child that can now speak up and say if they prefer chocolate or cherry ice cream or wanting to go mini-golfing versus kite-flying. Other times, you get a chance to witness life-altering changes, like “I am going to be the first person in my family to go to college.” or “I’ve learned about how to treat people fairly.”  I truly believe in the power of mentoring and am honored to have met so many great youth and adults who engage in this affirming process, over and over.  Kids ‘n Kinship is growing our community, one relationship at a time.  Come celebrate with us and hear some of the stories.  It will be an uplifting experience sure to warm your heart!

The Kids ‘n Kinship 40^th Anniversary Celebration is September 8^th at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville and tickets are available and can be purchase at www.kinship40th.eventbrite.com

Preparing for 40th Anniversary Gala: Part 1

*Our tree logo represents Kids’ n Kinship growing the community, one relationship at a time.   
The trunk incorporates our logo and the leaves are thumbprints that the children and mentors contributed.

With the approaching start of the school year, everyone at Kids 'n Kinship is working hard at preparing for our 40th Anniversary Gala on Sept. 8th.  We just sent out invitations to many individuals, organizations, and companies who have partnered with us over the years to allow us to continue to match qualified volunteer mentors with children in need in our community.  We are excited to see everyone who will attend, to watch the new and wonderful video made for us by Jeff Achen Videography, and to hear the stories of Carol Frick, founder of the program, and Drew Hendrickson, her original mentee who is now a successful adult, plus others.  We hope you can join us at the Gala!  To get tickets go to: kinship40th.eventbrite.com

Have you had a mentor through Kids 'n Kinship?

Kids 'n Kinship is looking for anyone who has benefited from a mentor with us over the last 4 decades.  As we gear up for our 40th Anniversary Gala on September 8th, we want to hear stories from the community about how mentors and Kids 'n Kinship have made a positive difference in your life.  Whether you had a Kinship mentor when you were a child or your child had a mentor or you were the mentor, Kids 'n Kinship would love to hear your success stories and would love to reconnect with you!  Please contact us at 952-892-6368 or jbkinship@aol.com.  You can also find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kids-n-Kinship/111538578889292) and on the web: http://www.kidsnkinship.org/

Kids ‘n Kinship is celebrating 40 years serving the community!

2012 is the 40^th year Kids ‘n Kinship has served children and families in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville, & Rosemount. We will be celebrating this impressive milestone for a non-profit organization with a special gala and fundraiser in September and the planning meetings have begun! Our first meeting started with the question, “how would you describe in one sentence how Kids ‘n Kinship improves the world?" Our committee had some great suggestions, referring to the importance of relationships, especially mentoring ones for the next generation, as well as connection to one’s community in mitigating the effects of our fast-paced, gadget-filled, yet lonely lifestyle. Too many children spend their time at home, alone, facing a TV or computer screen. Too many adults do too!

The power of face-to-face connection with other people cannot be forgotten! And this is what Kids ‘n Kinship does best! To a young person, having a mentor is like getting the water and sunshine needed to grow a seed into a tree. A child needs members of their family, whether biological or not, as roots, the good soil of their community and school, and people who believe in them (mentors, coaches, teachers, etc.) to provide the water and sun to encourage them. Kids ‘n Kinship mentors help our community by nurturing children, assisting those seeds’ journey as they grow into trees. Kids ‘n Kinship is about growing our community through relationships. Be a friend. Be a mentor. Go to www.kidsnkinship.org today to get started.