Jonathan Tandy admired the first sunfish that was caught on his boat outing.

A group of 20 kids from the Twin Cities metro area descended on Lake Waconia last Friday, looking to experience some fun on the lake.

The kids, all participants in the Kinship of Greater Minneapolis, were invited to attend the day-trip to the lake as a way to see what life outside the Minneapolis area is like during the summer. They were treated to an afternoon of fishing, water tubing and swimming at the beach. The Kinship program makes connections between youth who are in need of additional mentoring, and adults looking to provide that positive example. Adult mentors make a commitment of having weekly contact with their Kinship child for one year. Dan Johnson, who works for Kinship, said it’s critical for adults to make that one year commitment because “many of these kids are so accustomed to having adults drift in and out of their lives that they need some consistency.” Chuck Bies and Paul David, local residents, helped out last Friday, teaching kids how to fish and providing rides on tubes. For more details about Kinship, log onto http://www.kinship.org/ or call 612-588-4655. By Keith Anderson, Editor