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Volunteer Process
Office LocationsMain Office Anoka County Office
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Common Questions
Q: What is the purpose of Kinship? Kinship of Greater Minneapolis helps children, ages 5-15, in need of additional support to realize their God given potential through adult friendships. Kinship also provides a unique service opportunity for individuals, couples and families to put their faith into action on behalf of children. Q: What is the difference between Kinship and other mentoring programs? There are four major differences: 1. We have Christian roots and often recruit mentors in churches 2. We encourage individuals, couples or families to volunteer (extended family relationships). 3. We work with people as young as 5 on up to 15 years of age (if matched by 15, they can remain in the program until age 18. 4. We have a long-term, friendship focus, instead of a tutoring or short-term focus. Q: What are Kinship’s values? We are motivated to love our neighbor as ourselves. Regular, long-term relationships with a variety of adults are critical to healthy child development The quality of Kinship service and relationships is more important than quantity. We believe in careful screening, matching, and continual follow-up support of program participants. Dedicated volunteers are essential to our operation. Kinship provides the structure and organization for them to effectively serve children. Kinship’s professional staff is qualified, trained, motivated and committed to our vision. We believe in inclusiveness and collaborative efforts that bring together people of different races backgrounds and creeds. Q: Why is Kinship a faith-based ministry? Kinship of Greater Minneapolis began with students at Luther Seminary. As a part of their Home Missions class, they were assigned to explore the community needs from around the seminary in St. Paul. They discovered that there were young men in trouble with the law who came from single-parent homes. They decided to befriend them, and over time this outreach was named “Kinsmen”. Following the establishment of “Kinswomen”, the programs merged into “Kinship” and became oriented toward younger children, starting as early as age five. We also serve children who have a parent in prison (COP Program). The concept of Kinship goes back to the Old Testament times, when Kinsmen were called upon to support others less fortunate. The story of Ruth and Boaz is one such example (Ruth 3:1-18). Kinship of Greater Minneapolis provides an opportunity for people to put their faith into action by caring for the less fortunate. Volunteers and the children served at Kinship come from many different faith backgrounds. Kinship is not formally affiliated with any one denomination and all people, regardless of religious beliefs, are welcome and valued. Q: How long has Kinship been around? Kinship began with students at Luther Seminary in 1954. They befriended young men of single parent homes, who were in trouble with the law from Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The program branched off interdenominationally and began operating as a national organization in 1967. Kinship of Greater Minneapolis was established as a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1989. Q: What is Kinship’s service area? Kinship of Greater Minneapolis serves all of Hennepin County and Anoka County. Volunteers come from the entire metro area, many because they want to mentor through a program rooted in family values. We have offices in North Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, and Anoka County. Q: Is there a national Kinship organization? Yes, there is a National Kinship Affiliate Network Alliance. There are close to 50 affiliates operating in the United States as of 2009. The national organization has program standards that help assure that all Kinship affiliates operate professionally. Q: What is Kinship’s greatest need? At any given time we have 150 young people awaiting volunteers from the greater Minneapolis area. Our biggest need is for men to befriend boys who live in the inner-city. Q: What are the backgrounds of the kids Kinship serves? Economic Background: At the time of applying to our program, 51% of program participants either listed no employment, AFDC, disability, or were students. We are certain that among the remainder of families, many are working at jobs that keep them below the poverty level. Racial Background: Approximately 33% of children are Caucasian, 33% African American and 33% Multi Racial. Gender Background: Of the kids matched, the break-down between genders is relatively even (50% boys, 50% girls). The waiting list, however, is always more heavily weighted with boys. Age Range: Children can be enrolled in Kinship between the ages of 5 and 15. Geographic Range: 80% of our children live in Hennepin County, but we also have matches in 11 other surrounding counties, including Anoka and Ramsey. Q: How many kids has Kinship served? Here in the Minneapolis area, we have served over 1,500 kids with mentors since being established in 1989. As of January 2009 we had 320 kids in long-term relationships, with 130 on the waiting list. Q: How effective is Kinship of Greater Minneapolis? How can you measure the value of a long-term relationship? Although we seek a one year commitment, the average length of a Kinship relationship is three years, well above the national average. Some of our Kinship relationships continue well into adulthood. National mentoring research done by PublicPrivate Ventures indicates that kids who had mentors: were 46% less likely to start using drugs, and 27% less likely to start drinking were one-third less likely to hit someone skipped half as many days of school, felt more competent about their ability to do well there and, in fact, got slightly higher grades reported more positive relationships with their peers Volunteer Questions Q: What is required to become a volunteer through Kinship of Greater Minneapolis? Dependable volunteers meet once a week with their Kinship Kid, including him or her in their “everyday activities”. We ask for a time commitment of one year from the volunteer. We have a thorough screening process that includes an orientation, application, references, police check, and interview with two staff. Out volunteer application can be downloaded from www.kinship.org. Q: How old is too old to volunteer? Too young? Kinship volunteer mentors may begin as young as 19, with no upper age limit. Some important factors, which may limit volunteers, are the abilities to be consistent and have reliable transportation. Q: Do you match volunteers and children across races? Yes. Research has indicated that race is not an important variable in determining the effectiveness of mentoring relationships. We live in a multi-cultural society. Kinship provides an opportunity for both the mentors and children to learn more about other cultures through their relationships. Q: How long does it take to apply and be matched as a mentor through Kinship? It typically takes somewhere between 5-7 weeks. Much of this depends on how quickly the prospective volunteer attends an orientation, completes an application, and completes the interview process with two Kinship staff. All volunteers also must have four references returned and must receive a criminal apprehensions check. Usually, we have a child waiting that would be a good match, but occasionally they may need to wait for a child. Q: How are matches made between adult mentors and kids? Matches are made based on interests and location, as well as personality, skills, energy level, hobbies, age, and gender. Q: Do you ever need to reject people? Yes, rarely though. Usually, people who apply to Kinship are well intended and have plenty to share with a young person. However, we err on the side of what is best for the kids if we have concerns. In addition to taking references and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions check into consideration, staff are encouraged to use their intuition on whether candidates would be good role models for children. Q: For persons interested in volunteering, what would their next step be? Fill out an application. Applications are available at www.kinship.org or by calling 612-588-4655. Attend one of our upcoming orientations. There is no obligation - just come to learn and ask questions. Orientation sessions are held the first Thursday of each month at churches around the metro area. Please call 612-588-4655 for more information or directions. Parent/Kid Questions Q: How do kids find out about Kinship? They hear about the program from many sources – word of mouth, counselors, social workers, teachers, the United Way’s First Call for Help, etc. Q: How long do kids wait for mentors? The typical wait is one year. We are always striving to shorten the wait as much as possible, while still focusing on making the best possible match. We understand that the wait seems like forever to the child, but we want to make sure the wait has been worthwhile. Boys often wait longer than one year. Q: Why do you have more boys on your waiting list? The reason is twofold. First, women generally volunteer more often than men. Second, there are more boys without fathers in the home than girls without mothers. Funding Questions Q: How is Kinship funded? Kinship is funded through contributions of individuals, churches, corporations and foundations. We also received a federal grant to mentor children of prisoners. We are not a United Way agency, nor do we receive fees for service. Q: Since Kinship relies on volunteers to mentor kids, why does it need money to support its programming? The largest expense for Kinship is the staff. Professional staff is needed to carefully recruit, screen, match and support Kinship volunteers. Staff also visits all of the children’s homes, makes referrals as needed, and staffs program events. As with any organization, there are also administrative and operating costs; telephones, computers, copying, fundraising, etc. Kinship of Greater Minneapolis meets all of the quality program standards as defined by the Minnesota Charities Review Council. Kinship annually does a full audit, which is available upon request, along with the federal form 990. For more information about Kinship, please visit www.kinship.org or call 612-588-4655.
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