Get outdoors with youth in need!

Kids 'n Kinship is looking for guys to spend time with youth this summer.  Volunteers meet with a child once a week for fun time doing sports, hobbies, & exploring the great outdoors.  Consider being a friend to a young man like Alvin!

First name: Alvin

Age:  8

Interests:  Alvin loves football, soccer, & baseball.  He also enjoys sledding, bowling, movies, playing games, and going places like GrandSlam & Valleyfair.

Personality/Characteristics:  He is easy-going but active. His three favorite people are Batman, the Hulk, and Spiderman. Alvin lives with his single parent mom and his younger sister who already has a mentor.

Goals/Dreams:  Alvin would like to learn how to snowboard.  He would also love a key to open any door.  He’s looking for a male mentor, couple, or family with older kids to have fun with him.

  

For more information: Alvin is waiting for a mentor through Kids n’ Kinship in Dakota County. To learn more about this agency, contact Kids n’ Kinship at www.kidsnkinship.org or 952-892-6368. 

For more information about mentoring in your area, contact the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota at 612-370-9180 or check its online list of mentoring programs at mpmn.org under "Find a Program."

The 2013 College Football Coaches Challenge is Underway!

Kids 'n Kinship is proud to be one of 10 Expert Partner mentoring programs teaming up with the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota in the 2013 Coaches Challenge!

The challenge is geared towards recruiting mentors for top mentoring programs in the state. Gophers Football Coach Jerry Kill is challenged off the field by his peers in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Kansas. Coach Kill has entered a “Coaches Challenge” to recruit more mentors for Minnesota’s youth. Coach Kill, MPM and the mentoring programs will work to close the mentoring gap for more than 250,000 Minnesota young people who could benefit from a mentoring relationship.  

This Coaches Challenge could be especially helpful in recruiting men for the many boys on our waiting list. Did you know that two times as many women mentor than men? And yet 29% of boys wait a year or more to be matched with a mentor.  Men, think of the types of important talks you have had with other men & role models, perhaps a coach or an uncle or a family friend. Now, imagine a young boy not having that opportunity.  You can provide that for them.  Visit www.BeAMentorMN.com to sign up today!

For more information on Kids 'n Kinship explore our website, www.kidsnkinship.org.  We have information sessions scheduled for Tues. Sept. 24 at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley (14955 Galaxie Ave.) and Thurs. Oct. 10 at the Burnhaven Library in Burnsville (1101 W. CR-42), both from 6:00-6:45 pm.

Where are the MEN in Mentoring?

Recently, the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota conducted a study surveying 74 mentoring programs in MN.  They found that despite the nearly 200,000 youth being mentored in the state, there are 250,000 more who are in need an adult mentor. According to the study*, the most common reason for youth to be on a mentoring program waiting list is due to the lack of mentors available. Additionally, twice as many women step forward to mentor as men. Therefore 29% of male youth wait a year or more before being matched with a mentor, compared to only 5 percent of female youth. 

Kids 'n Kinship's own numbers also reflect this need for more men in mentoring. Currently approximately 60% of our 76 matches have female mentees and 65% of our 43 children on the waiting list are male. There could be a variety of factors in these statistics, including perhaps a higher rate of boys being referred to mentoring programs due to more mothers getting custody and a lack of male role models.  It could also be that mentoring programs appeal more to women than men, despite attempts to engage men in the process of helping to support the next generation.

Consider becoming a friend to a youth in need.  All it takes is a willingness to step up and try.  Just be present with a child.  You don't have to be a perfect man or woman to be a role model and friend to a kid.  More than anything these children just want to have fun and our mentors say they enjoy doing kid-focused activities too.  You can even mentor with your spouse, partner, or family.  Attend our information session TONIGHT Wednesday May 15, 6-6:45 pm at the Conference Room at Burnhaven Library in Burnsville or Tuesday June 4, 6-6:45 pm at the Wescott Library in Eagan.  For more information on Kids 'n Kinship, go to www.kidsnkinship.org.

*http://www.mpmn.org/Files/State%20of%20Mentoring%20Survey%20News%20Release%20-FINAL.pdf

Guest Blog: Annual Kinship Conference report from Rita

What's new?  Well ideas for making the best mentor matches for one thing.  Last week I enjoyed learning, sharing best practices and hearing new ideas from some of the best mentoring programs in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.  The annual Kinship Conference was in Brainerd and featured two days of interactive learning.  Want to know more about fundraising events, building a strong volunteer board of directors, insurance issues, etc?  Tune in to national and local practices resulting in long term meaningful mentor matches.  While there is a wealth of information offered on Mentoring websites (see below for a few), it was great to personally interact with professionals putting the information into practice.  I left the conference with lots of notes and a refreshed approach to matching great kids with great mentor volunteers. To find a Kinship mentor program near you, visit kinshipinc.org.

mpmn.org - The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota

mentoring.org - MENTOR, National Mentoring Partnership 

nwrel.org/mentoring - Education Northwest National Mentoring Center

- Rita Younger, Program Coordinator

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