Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia D. Crudup.
Hi Alicia D. , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Kids ‘n Kinship is a more than 50-year old strong preventative mentoring program in Dakota County for children ages 5-16 in need of a positive role model. Volunteer mentors plan and connect through activities and learning opportunities with the child weekly. he program has a focus on learning, both through our school based mentoring program and the life-long learning that occurs in a community based mentoring relationship. Our mentors guide youth in conflict resolution and decision making and role model to them appropriate and healthy behavior and relationships. They enhance the youth’s formal education by assisting with their school work and developing a positive connection to school and community. The goal is simple yet impactful and that is to have children form a long-term friendship with a responsible, consistent adult role model.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road… not so much when you are in the business of serving people nothing will be smooth as long as we have those who have and those who have little or nothing. We have more than 40 kids waiting for adult mentors who are available to give them at least 4 hours of month of time and attention consistently for at least one year. More than half of those kiddos waiting are boys in search of a male mentor to spend time with. In the last 3 years we have seen our funding shift, cut or completely eliminated.
Not to mention today, we are operating in what can only be described as a youth development state of emergency. Schools are reporting increased behavioral challenges, chronic absenteeism, declining academic performance, and rising social-emotional needs. Families are navigating economic instability, mental health challenges, and fractured support systems. Eighty nine percent of the youth we serve are being raised by single parents. Others are being raised by grandparents, foster parents, or caregivers stretched beyond capacity. Many of these children have experienced inconsistent adult relationships, grief, parental depression, or exposure to substance abuse. Without early intervention, these risk factors compound. The long term costs to educational systems, social services, public health, and the workforce are substantial. Mentorship is one of the most cost effective preventative interventions available.
As you know, we’re big fans of Kids ‘N Kinship Inc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Kids ‘n Kinship is a more than 50-year old strong preventative mentoring program in Dakota County for children ages 5-16 in need of a positive role model. Volunteer mentors plan and connect through activities and learning opportunities with the child weekly or monthly. Kids ’n Kinship delivers mentorship through a carefully structured and monitored model. Volunteers complete an extensive screening and training process and commit to weekly or monthly engagement for a minimum of one year. Besides being the premiere mentoring program of Dakota County what sets us apart is we allow for family mentors (i.e. your entire family may sign up to mentor a kiddo from our program).
The impact is what I would be most proud of. The thousands of life long relationships built through the connection of Kids ” N Kinship. The impact is amazing and here we are more than fifty years later still making connections, building relationship that last a lifetime across cultural and socioeconomic status.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Mentorship is the gift that gives both ways!
Pricing:
- Our Program is FREE
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kidsnkinship.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidsnkinship
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KidsnKinship
