NORTHERN CASS KINSHIP PARTNERS

Read our Kinship Newsletter here! Northern Cass Kinship Partners:  Kinship’s mission is to establish quality relationships between youth and caring adult volunteers for friendship, stability, support and community. Kinship Partners is a community based mentoring program.  Adult volunteers are thoroughly screened and matched with a Kinship youth.  Partners meet weekly for an activity of their choice.  Large group activities are also planned for all partners and youth on the Kinship waiting list. Mentees are boys and girls between ages 5 to 15 and are typically from single-parent family homes.  Many youth in the Kinship program are being raised by a grandparent or other relative. Kinship also has a special focus on mentoring children of prisoners. Without intervention these children are seven times more likely than their peers to enter the correctional system. Search Institute research has found that the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors and the more likely they are to thrive.  Positive adult role models will help youth and families build the following developmental assets: A commitment to learning as demonstrated by students completing homework, attending school regularly and parents involvement in their children’s activities. Develop positive values Develop a positive identity Mentoring creates relationships and relationships build community.  Your support of Kinship mentoring will provide more opportunities for us to strengthen families, to improve our communities, to bring joy to one another, and to enrich a child’s life.

MATCH OF THE MONTH JANUARY IS NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH INVEST IN THE FUTURE.  MENTOR A CHILD Kinship January 2012 Match of the Month FUN! is the adjective Samara Dodds and Katie Lowe use to describe their Kinship mentoring partnership.  The two have been partners for 1 ½ years.  When they hang out they typically play Wii games and watch movies.  Samara says that Katie not only taught her how to play Wii but to become a masterful player. They spend time cooking together and had fun learning how to make shaped pancakes!  Favorite Kinship group activities have been the fishing and swimming events. Samara’s mom, Amy, thinks Kinship is “awesome”.  “Katie is great with Samara!  She answers all of Samara’s questions and the two of them get together almost every week even though Katie has a very hectic schedule.” Katie and her husband have lived in Walker for 15 years.  They have three daughters, a son-in-law and two grandsons.  Katie serves on the HOWA Family Center board of directors and is involved in HOWA’s Amazing Race and The Romance of Chocolate events. Samara is 14 years old, lives in Walker, and is on the 8th grade basketball team.    Samara loves to swim and will be on the Special Olympics swim team. She’s been active for many years in 4-H and at the Northstar Sportsman’s Club in shooting sports and archery, even competing at the state level. Growing taller and smarter are changes that Katie has witnessed in Samara, and also her confidence and commitment to her basketball team.  Samara has been a regular attendee at 21st Century Peer Mentoring and Navigation programming over the last 2 years.  She’s taken part in many of the program’s fieldtrips, events and service learning projects. For more information about Kinship mentoring contact Jane Furuseth at the HOWA Family Center:  218-547-4388.  Visit our website at www.howafamilycenter.org   Please consider investing in the future by mentoring a child!  Northern Cass Kinship is a program of the HOWA Family Center and is one of 22 affiliates in Minnesota

PREVIOUS KINSHIP MATCHES OF THE MONTH: Peg & Tia The Knolls & Tyrell Martha & Neribeth

Steps to become a Kinship Partner

1. Find out more about becoming a mentor by calling the HOWA Family Center at 218-547-4273 or emailing Jane Furuseth at: jfuruseth@wha.k12.mn.us
2. Complete a Volunteer Application. Click here for the Volunteer Application. This application can be printed, completed and returned to the Kinship office along with a photocopy of your driver's license and proof of car insurance.
3. You'll need to have 3 people who know you well complete our reference form.
4. Child safety is our top priority. Every Kinship volunteer is required to have a background check. Click here for the background check form. The form can be printed, completed and returned to the Kinship office. Everyone living in the household full-time over the age of 18 must complete this form.
5. An interview and home visit is an opportunity for Kinship staff to get to know the prospective mentor better, which assists them in the matching process. It is also an opportunity for the mentor to ask questions regarding the Kinship program and the type of child with whom they will be matched.
6. Making a match! Once all the paperwork and references are complete and the volunteer has been accepted as a mentor, Kinship staff will contact you with information about kids on our waiting list. If the mentor is interested in being matched with one of those children, the parent/guardian will be contacted. An introduction meeting will be scheduled at the HOWA Family Center or in the child's home.
7. On-going support: After the match is made, Kinship staff will have ongoing contact with the child, the parent/guardian, as well as the mentor. All participants are encouraged to call or email Kinship staff if any concerns arise during the course of the relationship. We also provide ongoing training opportunities for the volunteer mentor.

How do I sign my child up for a Kinship partner?

There are children is our communities who need a friend...
A Kinship youth is a child between the ages of 5 and 15 who, for a variety of reasons, would benefit from having a special relationship with a caring adult. They are brought up in a variety of situations, often times coming from one-parent households. These children value friendship, affection, advice, guidance and meaningful adult companionship.

Northern Cass Kinship Partners serves families in the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District. If you would like your child to be a part of the Kinship program, download and fill out the Child Referral Form and Parent Permission Form. Your child will be placed on a waiting list. In some instances it takes time to find the right mentor for your child. Unmatched kids are encouraged to participate in all Kinship activities.