Perham’s Kinship program grows with new leadership and outings

A mentor and his Kinship connection spent time together at a Perham park as the local program added new leadership, group outings and peer mentors. The expansion gave Perham kids more chances to connect in low-pressure settings and signaled that the long-running mentoring effort was growing beyond single matches.

Kinship of the Perham Area has served the Perham area since 1996, pairing mentors with local youth for one-on-one time built around listening, guiding and support. The organization’s newer push into peer mentoring is aimed at integrating mentoring into the public school system, a move that could bring more young people into the program without losing the personal approach that has defined it for decades.

That approach remains central to the Kinship model. Kinship Inc. describes its affiliate network as grassroots and emphasizes careful screening, matching and follow-up support, a reminder that growth depends on more than recruitment alone. In Perham, that has meant creating more ways for children and adults to spend time together outside formal meetings, whether through outings or through peer-based support inside school settings.

The need for volunteers remains immediate. Kinship of the Perham Area says it is always looking for mentors, but it also offers short-term volunteer opportunities for residents who are not ready to commit to a long-term one-on-one match. The group says it has a financial need of $50,000 to sustain its mission and grow with community needs, a figure that shows how much support is required to keep the program expanding.

The effort is anchored in the same community where the Perham Area Community Center at 620 3rd Ave. SE offers youth, adult, fitness, aquatic and community programming. The center also hosted Senior Day on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, with tours, blood pressure checks, equipment and fitness demonstrations, membership signups, giveaways and an early look at the Elevate program. Kinship’s growth adds another layer to that local network, giving families and volunteers more ways to build the kind of face-to-face relationships that keep a small town connected.