Kinship of Aitkin County has become the leader in our community in providing quality adult/youth mentoring services along with after school programming that provides education and life skill development for children and youth in our county by introducing character to young children, assisting youth in developing life skills in making good choices in their everyday lives, promoting leadership and good citizenship through service learning activities for children and youth in grades K-12. 

We conduct this programming following our mission of providing positive mentoring experiences, education and healthy community connections with the vision for all Aitkin County children to have easy access to supporting positive adults in their lives; high quality, comprehensive structured and enriching afterschool programs that will help young people learn the importance of character, the importance of making good choices; and help young people navigate the adolescent years, finish their education, obtain skills leading to employment, and graduate healthy and drug free.

     A Mentoring Story

One of our recent successes in the mentoring program surrounds Jared and Jim. Jared started
the seventh grade last fall and, though very bright, was having a difficult time with anger management and forming successful peer relationships. In October, he was matched with Jim - a retired Department of Defense employee
whose intelligence was matched only by his patience and his calm.

This spring Jim encouraged Jared to go out for track. Though not interested in running, Jared decided to try. During one of the first practices, Jared exploded at the junior high track coach. Jim and the coach decided to work together to help
Jared get through the track season successfully.  
                                                                                                              
Just before the first track meet, Jared got into a fight at school and was suspended for three days. His mentor picked
him up and they sat at McDonald's for over an hour discussing conflict and anger and making better choices for
 resolving difficult situations in life. The suspension resulted in Jared missing his first track meet, but he continued to
 keep trying.  .

Though he did not win any meets, Jared was part of a team and saw the track season through to completion. Though
he may not have won any medals, being involved with an organized sport provided Jared more opportunities to
interact positively with his peers, have another adult (the coach) become a source of encouragement and support, and follow through with a commitment. Jared intends on joining track again.

For more information about the Kinship of Aitkin County Program contact:

Kinship of Aitkin County
208 2nd Ave. NW
Aitkin, MN 56431
(218) 927-4039
E-mail:  kinshipmentors@yahoo.com