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! 

Register here: kinshipbowlfundraiser14.eventbrite.com

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.

Watch our live interview on Kare11:
http://www.kare11.com/story/life/family/2014/04/21/kids-n-kinship-15th-annual-bowlathon/7977047/

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

Join Kids 'n Kinship for Our Bowlathon!

Kids 'n Kinship is excited to host our 15th Annual Bowlathon in the spring this year! It will be Sunday April 27th, from 3:30-7 pm.  We will have two bowling sessions:

3:30-5 pm for our mentors, mentees, youth on the waiting list, and their families
5:30-7 pm for community teams (youth groups, companies, and friends of the program)$25/person includes bowling, chips & pop, as well as free gift (see below)
Register here: http://kinshipbowlfundraiser14.eventbrite.com

Bowling with us is a great way to get service hours, to bond with your co-workers, or just have fun while making a difference for youth needing mentors in Dakota County! All community bowlers get a lovely commemorative gift like last year's cooler bag:

We are also seeking individuals and companies to sponsor us!  Funds will go directly to supporting youth needing mentors here in our community! Donations will be recognized in our newsletter.
Donate here: http://www.razoo.com/story/Kidsnkinshipbowlathon
For $200, you get a lane sign like in this photo:

Please consider participating by sponsoring us, gathering a team to bowl, or donating an item for our raffle baskets!

For more information on Kids 'n Kinship, check out our website www.kidsnkinship.org

Kids 'n Kinship Gala Raised Nearly $24,000!

Kids 'n Kinship's 2013 Gala raised $23,635!  These funds are so key to our continuing to serve youth in Dakota County by matching them with a mentor.  All of us on staff at Kids 'n Kinship are so grateful to EVERYONE who made it possible!

Special thanks to all of the committee members who donated hours of time planning the event!

Kids 'n Kinship also thanks all of the donors!  See full list on our homepage: www.kidsnkinship.org

Record-breaking CEM Fundraiser!

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On Saturday, Kids 'n Kinship participants and community members celebrated the successful return of the 2013 CEM 900 bike riders at Merchant's Bank in Apple Valley.  A record-breaking $34,000 was raised this year to support the work Kids 'n Kinship does in the community, matching youth with caring adult mentors!  We are SO thankful for the dedication of the riders, their support team, and everyone at Elder Jones and Merchant's Bank who help make this annual fundraiser such a fabulous success!  Fun was had by all at the Welcome Home party.  We enjoyed cake & cupcakes, popcorn, hot dogs & root beer floats, as well as live music by the Dakota Brass Quintet!  The weather was perfect and smiles were all around as we welcomed home the bike riders.

To donate, go to givemn.razoo.com/story/2013-Christian-Elder-Memorial-900

For more on the Christian Elder Memorial bike ride, go to CEM900.com

For more on Kids 'n Kinship, visit www.kidsnkinship.org

On the Road Again

On Wednesday May 22nd the brave CEM bike riders embarked on their 900 mile trip through Wisconsin.  For the 8th year these bike riders, led by former Kids 'n Kinship mentor John Elder, have biked 900 miles to raise awareness & funds for Kids 'n Kinship.  In years past they've biked from Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska & Iowa.  The ride is named the Christian Elder Memorial Bike Ride for Christian Elder, John's son, who passed away in 2007.

This year the riders are John Elder, Kids 'n Kinship board member Dennis Hill, Kathy Kelly, Bob Porter, Nate Cline, & Kids 'n Kinship former mentor Larry Koehler. They bring an RV and road crew Dave Goodermont, Jay Saterbak, & Jim Elder. 

To read about their adventure, go to their road diary: http://cem900.com/diary.html 

To donate towards our goal of raising $30,000 for Kids 'n Kinship, go to: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/2013-Christian-Elder-Memorial-900

ALSO, Join us in celebrating their return!  
Saturday June 8th, 11 am to 12 noon at Merchants Bank in Apple Valley
 
We will have live music by the Dakota Brass Quintet, hot dogs & root beers!  EVERYONE is welcome! 

For more information, go here: http://eagan.patch.com/groups/events/p/welcome-home-party-for-cem-bike-ridershttp://eagan.patch.com/groups/events/p/welcome-home-party-for-cem-bike-riders

Join us for a Family Friendly Fundraiser Ice Skating Event!

Like ice skating?  Want to support a great organization which provides mentors to youth in Dakota County? Join Kids 'n Kinship for this fun event in the community on St. Patrick's Day!  We will also have free massages!  Everyone is welcome - adults, kids, families, teens!  

Kids 'n Kinship has been serving children living in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville & Rosemount for over 40 years. We match them with caring individuals, couples & families for fun and enriching weekly activities in the community and in the home. Kids 'n Kinship provides pre-match training, ongoing support for each match, and many free and reduced cost tickets to area attractions including the MN Zoo, sports events & plays & musicals. For more information or to sign up as a mentor or to receive a mentor for your child, go to www.kidsnkinship.org.