Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a weekly series on youth mentors with the Perham Area Kinship program, in light of January being National Mentoring Month. For John Minge, becoming a mentor was the natural next step in a years-long relationship with the local Kinship program. A former United Way board member, John heard about Kinship of the Perham Area back when it was first being formed. He was impressed by what he learned about the program, and quickly joined the Kinship board of directors. Not long after that, he started helping out with BRAG (Boys R Always Gifted), a monthly Kinship program designed to help boys form friendships, build self-esteem and discover their talents. Then, he started reading to a kindergartener every other week during the school year as part of Kinship’s Reading Buddies program. John’s involvement with the local nonprofit continued to grow and get more hands-on over the years. It was only a matter of time before he started some one-on-one mentoring of his own. That moment struck three years ago, when he was paired up with Tucker Donahue, a then 10-year-old boy who lives near Perham. The two started getting together about once a month, and they continue their monthly meetings to this day. Usually, the two attend Kinship-sponsored events together, such as a boating and swimming party this past summer, a bowling event at The Cactus and a Twins baseball game. John usually takes Tucker to Kinship’s monthly BRAG events, which often include activities like wood-working and hiking. (Kinship also sponsors a similar program for girls called GAP, which stands for Girls Are Powerful). Today, Tucker is just shy of 14 years old, and he says the only thing he would do differently with his mentoring experience is to do more of it. He likes the time he gets to spend with John, he said, and if there were even more opportunities to get together, he’d love that. “It makes me feel like I have someone I can hang out with, someone to do stuff with and not be lonely,” Tucker said of having a mentor. “And knowing I can do something fun.” Tucker, who lives in a country home with his parents and two siblings, doesn’t always get a lot of chances to come back into town after school. His involvement in Kinship gives him a reason, and the means, to participate in some fun after-school social activities. He loves to play soccer, go to movies, and do wood-working projects with BRAG. “I like to build things,” he said. “The last thing I built was for my dad – it was a wooden tool box.” Tucker had never built anything out of wood before meeting John, but now that’s one of his favorite activities. A long-time woodworker, John has built sailboats and cabinets over the years, and he leads a lot of the small carpentry projects in BRAG. Most recently, he and the boys made a wooden jelly bean dispenser.
When he’s not with John, Tucker said he likes to draw, play with Legos, tinker on his tablet and – he said this with a sly smile – “bug my parents.” John agreed with his mentee that it would be nice to be able to get together more often, but for now the once-a-month meetings are doable for both of them. And it’s often enough that they’re both still getting a lot out of the mentoring experience. “I get the satisfaction of knowing that I can contribute a little bit to the life of another person,” John said. “My kids are grown up now, so I don’t have that in my life any more. And my whole life...I’ve always liked kids. So that’s what I get out of it. The contact with kids, and the satisfaction of knowing that I’m a little bit of a positive element in somebody else’s life.” For more information about Perham Area Kinship, visit kinshipperham.com or contact the program’s director, Jill Shipman, at 346-7102 or ships@arvig.net. Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a weekly series on youth mentors with the Perham Area Kinship program, in light of January being National Mentoring Month.For John Minge, becoming a mentor was the natural next step in a years-long relationship with the local Kinship program.A former United Way board member, John heard about Kinship of the Perham Area back when it was first being formed. He was impressed by what he learned about the program, and quickly joined the Kinship board of directors.Not long after that, he started helping out with BRAG (Boys R Always Gifted), a monthly Kinship program designed to help boys form friendships, build self-esteem and discover their talents.Then, he started reading to a kindergartener every other week during the school year as part of Kinship’s Reading Buddies program.John’s involvement with the local nonprofit continued to grow and get more hands-on over the years. It was only a matter of time before he started some one-on-one mentoring of his own.That moment struck three years ago, when he was paired up with Tucker Donahue, a then 10-year-old boy who lives near Perham. The two started getting together about once a month, and they continue their monthly meetings to this day.Usually, the two attend Kinship-sponsored events together, such as a boating and swimming party this past summer, a bowling event at The Cactus and a Twins baseball game.John usually takes Tucker to Kinship’s monthly BRAG events, which often include activities like wood-working and hiking. (Kinship also sponsors a similar program for girls called GAP, which stands for Girls Are Powerful).Today, Tucker is just shy of 14 years old, and he says the only thing he would do differently with his mentoring experience is to do more of it. He likes the time he gets to spend with John, he said, and if there were even more opportunities to get together, he’d love that.“It makes me feel like I have someone I can hang out with, someone to do stuff with and not be lonely,” Tucker said of having a mentor. “And knowing I can do something fun.”Tucker, who lives in a country home with his parents and two siblings, doesn’t always get a lot of chances to come back into town after school. His involvement in Kinship gives him a reason, and the means, to participate in some fun after-school social activities. He loves to play soccer, go to movies, and do wood-working projects with BRAG.“I like to build things,” he said. “The last thing I built was for my dad – it was a wooden tool box.”Tucker had never built anything out of wood before meeting John, but now that’s one of his favorite activities. A long-time woodworker, John has built sailboats and cabinets over the years, and he leads a lot of the small carpentry projects in BRAG. Most recently, he and the boys made a wooden jelly bean dispenser.
When he’s not with John, Tucker said he likes to draw, play with Legos, tinker on his tablet and – he said this with a sly smile – “bug my parents.”John agreed with his mentee that it would be nice to be able to get together more often, but for now the once-a-month meetings are doable for both of them. And it’s often enough that they’re both still getting a lot out of the mentoring experience.“I get the satisfaction of knowing that I can contribute a little bit to the life of another person,” John said. “My kids are grown up now, so I don’t have that in my life any more. And my whole life...I’ve always liked kids. So that’s what I get out of it. The contact with kids, and the satisfaction of knowing that I’m a little bit of a positive element in somebody else’s life.”For more information about Perham Area Kinship, visit kinshipperham.com or contact the program’s director, Jill Shipman, at 346-7102 or ships@arvig.net.
