Kids 'n Kinship 2014 Gala A Huge Success!

Kids 'n Kinship's Annual Gala on Sunday September 21 was very successful, raising over $30,000! Brackett's Crossing Country Club hosted 200 people that night who enjoyed the silent auction, wine pull, craft beer pull, portrait sessions, dinner and entertainment by comedian Scott Kadrlik, as well as testimonial by a mentor & his now adult mentee.

Kids 'n Kinship is so thankful for all of the MANY donors, sponsors, and volunteers who gave so generously of their time and resources to help make the event a roaring success!   The funds raised from the event will fuel our mission of providing friendships to children and teens in need of a positive adult role model. 

Enjoy these photos from the Gala

Our testimonial speakers - Jim Puncochar and Tony Dotson

Craft Beer pull table

Wine pull table

Rita Younger, Program Coordinator, and Laurie Thulien, our 2014 Gala Co-Chairs

One of the many silent auction tables

Participants enjoying the silent auction

James Backstrom, Dakota County attorney was our MC

Karen Anderson, winner of the Heart of Kids 'n Kinship award, with director Jan Belmore

Thomson Reuters, winner of the Community Partner Award

Dale & Bette Schenian, winners of the Friend of the Program Award

See more in this online gallery
http://gallery.kidsnkinship.org/default.aspx

We hope you will join us next year!

For more information on Kids 'n Kinship youth mentoring program in Dakota County, go to 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

2013 Gala a Huge Success!

Our 2013 Gala was a huge success!  We were completely sold out with 160 attendees! Preliminary numbers show that we raised over twice our goal!  Kids 'n Kinship is so thankful to everyone who supported the event by sponsoring it, donating items for the silent auction, wine pull or purse pull, or who promoted or attended the event.

Special thanks to guest musician Tim Mahoney for sharing his talent with us & to James Backstrom, Dakota County Attorney, for being our Master of Ceremonies!

We especially appreciate Drew Hendrickson who gave his testimony about how being mentored as a child changed his life!

Also special thanks to everyone who served on our gala committee - we couldn't have done it without you!

THANK YOU for helping Kids 'n Kinship to continue to serve youth in Dakota County by matching them with volunteer mentors!

For more information about Kids 'n Kinship, go to www.kidsnkinship.org

It's not too late to register for Kids 'n Kinship's Gala!

Kids 'n Kinship staff & committee members are in the final stages of preparing for our 2013 Annual Gala on Sunday Oct. 6th, 4:30-7 pm at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville!

We're super excited to have Tim Mahoney, Twin Cities Favorite from The Voice, as our musician!  This is his website: http://timmahoney.com/
Here's a preview of my favorite song by him, Shine Through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo40NXmUXCM

We have 85 bottles of wine for the wine pull and 32 purses for the purse pull and more are coming in every day!

We also have a great list of silent auction items including:
all sorts of gift sets (gardening, barbeque, wine-themed, & more)
a Kindle & a Nook
gift certificates for Abdallah chocolate, a variety of other stores & restaurants, &housecleaning
driving lessons
a Toro snow thrower
bread for a year from Panera Bread
tickets to the Twins, Timberwolves & Wild
passes for golf, yoga, The Works, Fright Night, & a science museum tour
& even wooden bowls made by my dad!

Don't miss it!  Register here TODAY!http://kidsnkinship2013gala.eventbrite.com/

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You're invited to our 2013 Annual Gala featuring Tim Mahoney!

Fall in Love with Kids 'n Kinship at our Annual Gala

featuring Tim Mahoney, Twin Cities Favorite from The Voice

Sunday, October 6, 2013

4:30-7:00 pm

Crystal Lake Golf Club

16725 Innsbrook Dr

Lakeville, MN 55044

Purchase tickets at: www.kidsnkinship2013gala.eventbrite.com

$40 per person, $280 for a table of eight

Join us for this wonderful Gala and learn how much there is to love about Kids ‘n Kinship...

·         Mentee Testimonial

·         Master of Ceremonies James Backstrom, Dakota County Attorney

·         Featuring the Incredible Music of Tim Mahoney

·         Silent Auction

·         Wine Cork Pull

·         Purse Tag Pull

Sponsor the Event or Make a Donation:  http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Kids-N-Kinship-Fall-Gala

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